House of Rangers
by dandelion657
Summary: Nina Martin is not only the Chosen One, but she also holds a secret from her friends at Anubis house. When she has to return home to help our her brother and the latest team of power rangers, she finds herself wishing that she didn't have to do it. Can she keep her two worlds from colliding and figure out a way to keep both sides less suspicious about the other? AU of both.
1. Origins Part I

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 1: Origins**

**Part I**

_A/N: AU __**Crossover **__with __**House of Anubis **__and __**Power Rangers Samurai. **__Nina Martin isn't exactly who everyone thinks she is. Everything is back to normal after finding the Mask of Anubis, but it isn't long after that when Nina gets the call for something she was dreading. Just when her life was getting good, she finds herself leaving for her home in Panorama City, California. She's happy to go back for the sake of seeing her older brother, who she shares a secret with. _

_Nina is a lot stronger than her housemates think. She never told them she was training in martial arts for something bigger than they could possibly imagine, and she wanted to keep it that way. Now that her two worlds of being the Chosen One and a samurai ranger are colliding, can she manage to keep the worlds a secret from the other? Will Sibuna find out about her being a power ranger, if they ever learn what exactly one is? Will her ranger teammates find out about her being the Chosen One and the rest of Sibuna?_

_For the young American at the British boarding school, this is going to be a long journey._

_Set after Season Two finale of House of Anubis. For the sake of this story, the Anubis kids are seventeen or turning seventeen._

_Couples: Nina/Fabian (Fabina), Amber/Alfie (Amfie), Eddie/Patricia (Peddie), Mike/Emily, Kevin/Mia, Jerome/Mara (Jara), maybe Joy/Mick (Moy)._

_Also, this story is going to be updated slower than the other ones I have out._

_**For those of you unfamiliar with House of Anubis: **__The best way I can summarize House of Anubis (seasons 1 and 2) is the following – House of Anubis is about an American girl named Nina who goes to a boarding school in England on a scholarship. She arrives the same day one of the students disappears. After meeting an old woman named Sarah and being given a locket, Nina finds herself becoming friends with Fabian and Amber (students), the three starting to solve a mystery that Patricia and Alfie (other students) soon become involved in as well. In season one, Nina is what is known as the Chosen One, born on the 7__th__ day of the 7__th__ month at the 7__th__ hour, and only she can assemble the Cup of Ankh. In season two, another mystery is revealed where they have to find the Mask of Anubis, and a new character, Eddie (another American), is discovered at the end to be the Osirion, the Chosen One's protector, in a sense. Sibuna is the name of their little club that solves the mysteries._

_If you like mystery, you should definitely watch it._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

Nina Martin held one too many secrets for an almost seventeen year old. To start, she had been living most of her life with her Gran in America, in a small city that had extremely good protection. Her Gran had been training her to become a samurai, one who would one day become a defender of the world as a power ranger. That wasn't all, though. She knew she would be fighting alongside her older brother, who was going to lead the team. She hadn't seen her brother since he was five and she was three. Nina had very little memory of her last day with her brother, but she knew he was going to be there for her, no matter what.

As she grew up, she learned more about her destiny to become the orange samurai ranger, controlling the element of fire, just like her brother. Her Gran told her all about the samurai life and helped her train. She learned more about the power ranger culture, learning the different terms and rules, especially the most sacred three rules there were: never escalate a battle, never use the powers for personal gain, and never ever reveal your identity or risk losing the protection of the power. Every ranger that ever was followed these three rules, even if there were some public identity teams.

Then the time came when she was accepted to the boarding school in England on a scholarship, and that's when her life took a turn filled with many secrets. She had made sure to keep her ocelot folding zord hidden, which wasn't that hard to do, considering it took the shape of an octagon when not active. Her zord was her best friend until she moved to England and met her housemates. Nina was the closest with her boyfriend Fabian, and her roommate Amber, but she had grown closer to Patricia and Alfie, and she had a feeling she would become friends with Eddie after the last mystery where he had saved her.

Her life at Anubis had been hectic, at least. It started her first day of classes, when she ran into an old woman by the name of Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, who gave her an Eye of Horus locket. The locket had allowed her to unlock all the mysteries of Anubis house, and thanks to help of Fabian, Amber, Patricia, and Alfie, the Sibuna gang as Amber had dubbed them, they were able to uncover everything. Within the two years Nina was there, they had managed to find and assemble the Cup of Ankh and the Mask of Anubis, which helped get rid of one of their enemies.

Nina Martin was the Chosen One.

Now, things were as normal as they could possibly get at Anubis house. It was only the second semester of the year, and things were going great. Nina and Fabian were the happy couple, and Amber was more than glad to see Fabina together. Victor didn't seem as harsh since the end of the second mystery. Multiple couples had formed, such as Jerome and Mara, Patricia and Eddie, and Amber and Alfie. The only two not currently dating were Joy and Mick, but Amber knew that wouldn't last long.

Everyone was eating the wonderful dinner Trudy had made for them. Then again, everything she cooked was delicious. They were all sitting around the table, finishing the meal.

Their meal was interrupted when a thud echoed through the house, sounding as if it came from outside.

Everyone turned their heads toward the front door, trying to see if it was anything near there. A moment later, Trudy walked in, holding an arrow with an orange tail and a paper with a strange symbol on it attached. Nina recognized it immediately as the call that she was needed. "It appears someone shot this at the house," Trudy spoke.

"Who would do that?" Patricia frowned. "I mean, why here?"

"I wanna know what exactly it means," Jerome added. Secretly, the Sibuna members shared a look, Nina knowing what they were thinking. Eddie seemed to be deep in thought about it.

Nina knew this would be difficult.

* * *

Later that night, when most people were downstairs hanging out after dinner, Nina was in her and Amber's room, packing what she knew she would need. She was going to have the rest of her things shipped to her Gran's place. She had already called the older woman and told her that it was happening, and she understood. Everything was all set for Nina to leave in the middle of the night when everyone would be sleeping. The dirty blonde found herself regretting packing. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to. This was something she could not ignore.

A knock at her door caused her to pause in her actions. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Eddie," the other American in the house replied. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you about something." Nina walked over and opened the door and let him in, shutting it behind him.

"What do you need to talk about?" she asked, standing.

"That arrow was meant for you, wasn't it?" he asked. Nina looked a bit shocked that he could figure that out. No one was supposed to know, and she didn't think anyone would. Of course, she knew questions would arise, but she hoped no one would figure it out. "I mean, I know it wasn't meant for me, and none of the others know the symbol, and you're up here packing…"

"How do you know the symbol?" Nina narrowed her eyes, wondering.

"My cousin is supposed to be one too," Eddie stated. "She's supposed to be yellow."

Nina let out a sigh of relief. "At least someone will understand then. I really don't want to do this."

"Yeah," Eddie scoffed. "Sounds like it wouldn't be all that fun."

"But if I don't do it, who will?" she asked. "It's something passed down from generation to generation. I can't ignore it."

"How do you plan on getting out of here?" the other American wondered.

"I've got it covered," she assured.

Eddie had another idea. "What about saying goodbye to the others? There's no way any of them will understand any of this."

"Just trust that I have it covered, okay?" Nina pleaded. "Now if you don't mind, I have to finish packing. As soon as it's lights out, I'm outta here." Eddie nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Nina let out another sigh. She was glad at least one person would understand that this was going to be hard. She had no idea how exactly to explain her sudden disappearance to the others. She feared they would think it was like what happened to Joy during Nina's first year.

Getting an idea, she found a notebook and a pen and began to write, momentarily forgetting she still needed to finish packing.

* * *

Morning found Nina back in America. She was finally home, in Panorama City, where she belonged. She regretted having to leave so abruptly, but it was the only way for her to. She had managed to send her goodbyes, and she knew her friends would find them in the morning when they woke up. She wasn't sure exactly when, given the time difference. The way she said goodbye wasn't exactly the most ideal way of doing so, but it was the only way she could think of that would help her explain it, if she could explain it at all.

Her flight had gotten in earlier in the morning, granting the time difference didn't help matters. Her Gran had picked her up and told her all that she needed to know, before dropping her off where she needed to be. Nina found herself wandering around the city, trying to find where exactly she was needed. She was trying to recall where her home of three years was, which was hard to do. She had a very vague memory of the place, considering she was three the last time she saw it.

As she walked, she noticed two people standing outside of an SUV that had a certain symbol on it, one she recognized. She spotted the African American guy wearing a swim cap, a zipped up light blue sweatshirt, and black sweat pants. The girl, she noticed, had long black hair and was wearing a grey sweatshirt with a pink shirt underneath and black jeans. Before she could make her presence noticed, she saw a petite girl with curly blonde hair down to her shoulders wearing a yellow top and blue jeans run toward the two.

Nina neared the three, catching the end of the blonde's words. "Are you the red ranger?" she asked the guy in blue. Nina reached the group as the guy in blue spoke.

"No, I'm blue."

The other girl spotted Nina and looked to her. "Are you the red ranger?"

"Orange," Nina corrected. Before she could say another thing, they were interrupted.

"You guys must be my peeps." They turned to find a guy in a white t-shirt, green jacket, and jeans speaking to them and stepping closer.

"You're the red ranger?" the guy in blue frowned.

The guy in green scoffed. "No, I'm mighty green." A horse whinnying caught their attention. All five turned to find someone Nina knew very well. Sitting upon a white horse was a tall, light brown haired man, a couple years older than Nina, wearing a red plaid shirt with a black shirt underneath and jeans. "With an entrance like that, you have to be the red ranger."

"Yes," Jayden held up the lion folding zord, Nina finally glad to see something familiar. "I am the red ranger."

"We're your team of samurai," the guy in blue stepped forward.

"Let me warn you now," Jayden began. "If you follow me, there is no turning back. Either we defeat the Nighlok together, or they will take over the world. I will give these," he hopped off the horse and reached into the bag, pulling out their samurizers. "Only to those who are ready to accept the challenge. Do not accept because you were trained to do so. Accept only if you are willing to commit and fight as samurai power rangers with all your heart."

Subconsciously, Nina grabbed her locket that Sarah had given her. She held it for a brief moment, knowing there was no turning back. Like she had told Eddie, if she didn't do this and help save the world, then who would? She had been training her whole life for this, and it would've been pointless if she were to do all that training only to walk away from it now.

"Without hesitation," the guy in blue agreed.

"I've been planning for this since I was a little girl," the taller of the three girls nodded. "So yes."

"I'm ready to give it all I've got," the other blonde agreed. Nina couldn't find the words to speak, so all she did was nod.

"Okay okay," the final guy rolled his eyes. "Do we have to be so formal? Let's do this thing." Jayden tossed them their samurizers, everyone catching their own.

"Let's go," he ordered.

* * *

"That's enough!" Jayden shouted as he and the other five stood at the top of a series of steps, seeing the Nighlok monster terrorize people and letting moogers attack the area. The Nighlok looked up at them, grinning that they finally showed up. Nina had no idea what to think. She knew this would happen, but she didn't think it had gotten this bad. All five stood in their uniforms that were outlined in their color.

"Well, it's about time," the Nighlok huffed. "Oh come on. Who are you punks?"

"We're the samurai rangers," Jayden stated. "Samurizer…"

"Go Go Samurai!" With everyone on the same page, they traced their symbols and spun them, morphing. Nina was shocked by the rush of power flowing through her. It was a sort of power she couldn't describe, kind of how she couldn't describe the powers of her locket. All of them stood tall and strong. "Samurai Ranger, ready. Rangers together, samurai forever!"

The Nighlok didn't want to waste time. "Moogers, get them!" The creatures charged as the six rangers ran down the steps, leaping into battle. All of them separated and gathered a group of moogers for them to take down. Nina stuck close to Jayden, hoping to maybe get some much needed info out of him. Then again, knowing him, she doubted he would say much.

Kevin was handling his own group of moogers rather well. Emily was holding her own in her fight, but they could tell she was struggling slightly. Mike didn't really have a strategy other than knocking down anything that didn't look human, as it appeared to Nina. Mia was doing just as good as everyone else. However, Nina and Jayden soon found themselves starting to be backed into a wall.

"Is this the best you can do?" the red ranger asked, instantly regretting it as moogers with bows and arrows took the place of regular moogers. The army of these moogers took aim and fired at the two, Nina and Jayden dodging the arrows swiftly and deflecting some with their spin swords. The other four managed to regroup around them.

"There's dozens of them," Emily observed.

"Yeah, but we can hold them off," Kevin assured.

"But they keep coming," Mia pointed out.

Jayden looked to Nina, who caught his glance through the helmets and the two nodded. "We will help you," the older of the two spoke. "Hang tight."

"Guys, we can do this together," Nina added. She and Jayden spun the discs on their swords, calling forth their weapons. "Fire Chucks!" The orange ranger's weapon was a set of nunchucks, which she knew how to use rather well.

"Fire Smasher!" Jayden followed. Both swung as the others ducked, making sure not to be hit. The two ran off into the army of moogers and began fighting once more.

"Wow," Emily blinked. "They're incredible!"

Kevin agreed. "Yeah, but there's too many of them. Come on. We got to help them out." All of them ran back into battle, changing their spin swords into their weapons. Kevin used his Hydro Bow to take down the moogers from a distance. Mia used her Sky Fan to blow them away. Emily used her Earth Slicer to chop the moogers away. Mike finished off using his Forest Spear to knock them back.

* * *

After a rather good ending to their first fight, all of the rangers found themselves making their way back to the Shiba house. Nina was trying to organize her thoughts, which kept jumping from one thing to another. She would start off thinking about her friends back at Anubis house, which would somehow lead her to thinking about how awkward it would be to once again be living in her old home. If she started off thinking about the fight they just finished, in which they destroyed the Nighlok, she would end up thinking about the mysteries she had solved at Anubis house.

Everyone else, well, most of the others, were gushing about their victory in destroying their first Nighlok. The only one as quiet as Nina at the moment was Jayden, who was walking slightly behind her. Nina found herself walking slightly behind the others, not bothering to pay attention to the conversation in front of her. However, before they knew it, they were walking inside the gates to the Shiba house. As soon as she caught sight of familiar surroundings, Nina couldn't help but look around outside.

"What a rush," Emily broke them all free of their thoughts. "We did good."

"Piece of cake," Mike agreed.

"We could have never done it without each other," Jayden stated.

"Thank you for leading us into battle," Kevin thanked.

Ji exited from the house, and Nina couldn't help but smile when she recognized him. "Bravo," he greeted. "Such energy, such grace."

"Who is that?" Mike asked.

"This is Ji," Jayden answered. "Our mentor."

"Welcome to your new home," Ji continued. "You've all come from different places and families, but share one noble goal. I'm very proud of how you've come together."

"We just followed some good advice and worked as a team," Jayden explained.

Ji nodded. "Yes, but you are not just any team. You are the samurai rangers."

They all smiled and turned toward one another, getting the same idea.

"Rangers together, samurai forever!"

* * *

A/N: As I said, this is a _**Crossover **_between **House of Anubis **and **Power Rangers Samurai. **Many things should become clearer as this story goes on and on and on. So what'll happen next?


	2. House of Disappearances

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 2: House of Disappearances**

_A/N: So last time, an arrow was shot at Anubis house. No one but Nina and Eddie knew what it meant. Nina left without a goodbye, or did she? Now, in this chapter (set after Nina leaves in the previous one), the Anubis residents find letters of her saying goodbye. Some are specifically addressed, and there's one for all of them. What will they learn, what will they think, and what will happen to Fabina? _

_I know Mick isn't in the new season, but he's going to be around in the HOA chapters for a while._

_Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this so far. _

_I've figured that I would try to update this story every Thursday in honor of the HOA season 3 episodes being aired on Thursdays._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Morning dawned on Anubis house, and the students were glad to find it was a weekend, meaning there was no school the next day. To them, nothing seemed wrong. Nobody had talked about the previous day's events with the arrow. None of them wanted to deal with it. Amber Millington was happy to wake up on this morning, as she was every morning. Her housemates, including Nina, couldn't understand why exactly she was so happy every morning, but none of them really wanted to know.

After getting ready, Amber realized something. She hadn't heard the voice of her roommate at all since she woke up. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she saw her roommate. Nina certainly wasn't in the bathroom, and from what the blonde could see, her best friend wasn't in her bed either or anywhere in the bedroom. Amber shrugged it off, thinking the dirty blonde was already downstairs eating breakfast.

Amber walked into the dining room and noted that not everyone was there. She took her usual seat as Trudy finished cooking, the blonde, Jerome, Patricia, and Mara waiting for everyone else to show up. Alfie and Mick entered soon after, both boys hungry. Joy and Eddie walked in next, both taking their own seats. By now, the only ones missing were Fabian and Nina, which was a bit unusual. "Has anyone seen Nina?" the blonde asked.

"No," Mara replied. "Wasn't she in your room?"

"She wasn't there when I woke up," Amber shrugged, confused. "And she's not in the bathroom. What about Fabian? Maybe he knows where Nina is."

"He was reading some letter I guess that he found when he woke up," Eddie answered. "He seemed to be drifting off."

Trudy walked in and put a few plates of breakfast choices on the table. She had a letter in her hands that had already been open. "This might explain where Nina is, dearies. I'll leave you all alone to read it." She left the room, leaving everyone silent. No one knew what to do or say as they all stared at the piece of paper on the table.

Amber, being Nina's roommate, decided to read it aloud. She grabbed the paper and began to read.

"_Dear Everyone,_

_By the time you are reading this, I am either on a plane back to my home in California or I am already there. I know I should've spoken to all of you about this before taking off, but I couldn't wait any longer to do this. As much as I wish I could stay and hang out with all of you, I can't. I was needed back home, and with recent things happening here, my Gran would feel safer knowing I was there with her. _

_It's kind of hard to explain the exact reason for my sudden disappearance, considering I doubt most of you would understand. I don't mean to make it sound like you all aren't smart, because I know you're all smart in your own ways, but it's just something that might not seem believable and because of that, it would be hard for you all to understand. Anyway, if you want a better understanding of why I left, I'm pretty sure it'll be featured on the world news within the week, or you can even research some of the things I wrote on the other side of this paper. It might help you understand, and might help Alfie prove his 'aliens do exist' theory."_

Everyone looked to Alfie, who seemed to be sporting a small grin. It was hard to be happy since they had just learned Nina was gone, but Amber continued reading.

"_Also, if I do not reply to anything you send me, whether it be a letter, text, email, et cetera, then it's because it's hard where I live to get good phone reception, internet connection, and mail doesn't always come through pretty fast. It's just generally hard to connect with anyone here. _

_Now, there are some things I wish I should've said to you all before I left, so, I guess, here they are._

_Trudy: You have been like a mother to me since I first arrived, and I look up to you as one. Thank you._

_Mara and Mick: I wish I got to hang out with you guys more and got to become better friends with you guys. Hopefully when and if I am able to return, we can become better friends._

_Jerome: I honestly have no idea what to say to you other than to be careful with any future pranks and to try to be a bit nicer."_

Most of them couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape at that.

"_Joy: I know we didn't exactly get along and we still don't, but I do hope someday we could maybe be friends?_

_Alfie: First thing first, if you hurt Amber, I will come back and hurt you. Also, keep making everyone laugh, and make sure the pranks don't get too hurtful. _

_Eddie: Considering you are the only one who would possibly understand why exactly I had to leave so suddenly, please try to explain it to the others. Help them with the research of the things on the back of this, considering you would possibly know what to look for. And like I told Alfie, if you hurt Patricia, I will come back to hurt you."_

Everyone looked to Eddie at that, wondering how he could possibly know more about this than they did. He shook his head and Amber decided it best to question later, read now.

"_Patricia: Promise you'll stay Patricia, and I promise I'll stay American. I never thought I would say this considering how things started out between us when I first moved to the house, but you have become one of my best friends there._

_Amber: I know it was probably a shock to wake up and not see me in the room as well, and I'm sorry. It's probably confusing too since most of my stuff is still in there. Anyway, you're still my best friend and the best fashion/relationship guru I know, so keep it up. _

_Fabian: I love you. I always will. Don't forget that._

_I will miss you all so much, and I do hope I can return someday. Even if I can't return while we're all still in school, I promise to try and come visit when I can. I make no guarantees as to when I will be able to get in touch or visit you all, but I will do my best to try to do so._

_Love and miss you all._

_Love, Nina."_

When Amber finished reading, everyone was silent and no longer hungry. They were all thinking about the messages she specifically left for them, and what exactly she meant. Of course, thanks to their talk the previous night, Eddie understood perfectly, and he understood what she had told him. He knew it might seem unbelievable to all of them, and he knew he had to leave out key parts of information when explaining.

No one wanted to say anything.

* * *

Fabian was unsure of what was going on when he woke up. When he first opened his eyes, he saw something covering his face. He sat up and grabbed the paper taped to his face, being sure to toss the tape away. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up a bit. The brunette hadn't wanted to wake up from his dream, considering it was the first good one he's had in a while. He noticed Eddie was starting to wake up as well, but he didn't really pay attention to it.

He just stared at the paper for a few minutes, his brain trying to register what exactly it was. By the time he found himself fully awake and aware, he realized Eddie had already gone to breakfast. Now alone, Fabian decided he should read what was written on the paper. Something inside him told him it wasn't going to be good.

_Dear Fabian,_

_I hope you read this before you go out to see the others. By the time you read this, I am either on a plane back to my home in California or already there. I know I should've spoken to you about this before taking off, but I couldn't wait any longer to do this. As much as I wish I could stay, especially since we just got back together, I can't. I was needed back home, and with recent things happening here, my Gran would feel safer knowing I was with her._

_It's kind of hard to explain the exact reason for my sudden disappearance, considering you probably wouldn't understand (has to do with something that's been going on in California for years and I doubt it would be something that's talked about or studied or whatever in England). I know you're smart, but my exact reason might be hard to understand because it's kind of unbelievable. If you want a better understanding, chances are it'll be on the world news within the week or somewhere online._

_Okay, so if you do end up reading the other letter that is addressed to everyone, including you, then the same things start it off. That was just in case you read this one first. Anyway, the rest of this is kind of hard to write, and I'm not sure how it will come out, so here it goes._

_First of all, before anything else in this confuses you, nothing relating to my disappearance has anything to do with Sibuna or mysteries, I can assure you. My disappearance isn't like Joy's was the first time around, though it may seem like it in some ways. This was actually something I knew was going to happen, but as anyone who lives anywhere in California will tell you, when this happens is totally unpredictable. Where I live there, this is about the tenth city in California that this has happened to, each time it happens it's always with a new…well, I don't know what exactly to call it, but for lack of better term, an enemy._

_There's a whole world out there that not a lot of people know about. And by not a lot, I mean like, less than a hundred at most. Before the mysteries began, we probably didn't know anything like that was possible. This is similar in that sense, that there's more to it than meets the eye. Speaking of the mysteries, I'm trusting you to keep the cup well hidden and safe. It's possible a bigger threat might come after it, but for now, it doesn't look like that'll happen._

_The thing that sucks the most about me having to leave so suddenly is that we just got back together, and now it's going to be hard. Trying to stay in touch is going to be difficult, and I don't know how often I will be able to. When and if I do manage to get in touch, then I won't be able to say much (in letter or text) or talk long (on the phone). _

_I'm going to miss you all, especially you, Fabian. I will never forget you, and I will always love you, but what I'm about to say is for your own safety and protection. _

_I think we should…not continue our relationship._

_With everything going on at the moment, and for all the reasons I listed above, I think it's best. I know saying it in a letter isn't the best way to do it, but it was the only way it could be done. I hope that we one day meet in the future, and I'll be able to explain everything about this to you, and please don't be too mad at me for this, even though you have every right to be. _

_I love you. I always will. Don't forget it._

_Love, Nina._

_P.S. – if a blonde haired blue eyed girl named Lauren Shiba ever shows up to the house, give her any letters you guys may have written to me, if any of you do. _

Fabian read and reread the letter a few times, making sure he got every word right. The more he looked it over, the more he realized this wasn't a nightmare and this was really happening. Nina was gone and she had given him a Dear John letter. He wasn't sure how to feel, and he didn't know if he wanted to be mad. He believed every word Nina had written, and though he didn't want to be mad, he couldn't help but feel that way a bit.

Fabian set the letter down on his nightstand and laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Why did this have to happen?

* * *

A/N: Okay, so it may be a bit short, but I am including House of Anubis POVs. I'm going to alternate chapters, so for every chapter that involves the rangers, there's going to be one that involve the HOA gang. There will be some that will include both in them, where some of them meet up or whatever. Anyway, up next is Origins, Part II.


	3. Origins Part II

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 3: Origins**

**Part II**

_A/N: Last time, in the first chapter, Nina had to leave school to head back home, where she was called to perform her duties as the orange samurai ranger. She got to see her older brother, who she hadn't seen since she was three. She also learned that Eddie knew her secret, and that his cousin is one of her teammates. So, what'll happen now? Will Nina reconnect with her brother? _

_Also, if I don't include fight scenes, I apologize._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

It was the next morning, and Ji wanted to test them on what they knew. Shortly after getting back from the fight the previous day and after getting settled in, Nina found herself going to bed early, trying to get used to the time difference. None of them knew exactly why she went to bed early, or how it was a time difference for her, but they didn't question it. The blonde found herself now sharing her old room with Mia and Emily. She knew her brother had his own room, and Mike and Kevin were sharing the other. As of this moment, however, all of them were in the yard, easels set with paper and paint before them. Ji had wanted them to practice a symbol in their element to see where they stood.

"There is more to being a power ranger than mastering a sword," Ji spoke as he walked down the line. "You must also learn to use your inherited samurai symbols." He stopped behind Jayden and Nina. "Aha, fire symbols." Both their symbols burned off the paper when they finished.

Ji moved to look at Kevin's. "Yes, water." He stepped back when the symbol sprayed Kevin with water. Nina found herself biting her lip to keep from laughing.

Ji looked to Emily's symbol. "Good, earth symbol." When Emily finished, a giant rock fell off the page, and just so happened to hit Kevin's foot. He began hopping around in pain as Emily quickly went to help him.

"Oh!" she gasped, trying to help. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Kevin coughed.

Mia chuckled lightly as she completed her symbol. Ji took note of it as it blew wind across her. "Ah, the symbol for wind. Very good."

However, when he moved on to Mike, the boy seemed to be struggling. "That's not right," Mike muttered. "Was it this way?" he tried again. "That's it!" Nothing happened.

"The order of the strokes is wrong," Ji stated. "Mike, you must practice more." By now, everyone was looking their way.

"Okay, I get it," he nodded. "Practice." He moved to make it look like he was going to try again. "How about a lunch break? You'd be amazed at how well I practice after a few slices of pizza."

Ji did not seem amused.

* * *

After the morning training session, everyone went off doing their own thing. For Nina, that meant sitting in her room and staring at the most recent picture of the residents at Anubis House. It had been taken in the living room, all of them in casual wear. It was the day after the visit from everyone's parents and relatives. In the center of the couch sat Nina and Fabian, the latter's arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulders as her head rested on his shoulders. Patricia sat next to Nina, Eddie on the arm rest beside her. Alfie sat next to Fabian, Amber on the other armrest. Behind Nina, Patricia, and Eddie stood Jerome with his arms wrapped around Mara's shoulders. Joy and Mick stood smiling on the other side, standing behind Fabian, Alfie, and Amber. Everyone was smiling as Trudy snapped the picture, and you could tell all the smiles were genuine.

She heard a knock on her door and quickly hid the picture under the pillow on her bed, but it was no use. "What was that?" Jayden asked as he entered, having seen it.

"It was nothing," Nina replied. Both of them knew this felt awkward, considering it had been years since they last saw each other. She was going to be turning seventeen come summer, and he was already nineteen. They had both definitely grown up, and they both knew it was awkward. Sure they had kept in touch, but it wasn't like they actually saw each other. Unlike him, she got to live a normal life, go to regular school, and make friends.

"That was not nothing," he moved for the pillow, managing to grab it and the picture before she could argue. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Who are these people?"

"My friends," she bit her lip.

"The ones from the fancy boarding school Gran sent you to?" he frowned. Then he noticed how Nina and Fabian were. "Who's the guy next to you?"

Nina looked down and blushed a bit. She knew her brother, no matter the strain on their relationship, was going to be overprotective. "My boyfriend. Well, I guess now he's my ex…"

"If he hurt you, I'll go…"

"No no," Nina shook her head. She didn't need Jayden going to beat up Fabian. After all, Fabian didn't even know she had an older brother. "_I _broke up with _him_ because I got the call to come here. Long distance won't work, especially with the no contact rule Ji puts into place."

Jayden looked at her and noticed she had a couple tears starting to roll down her face. "You were really close with them, weren't you?"

"They were my first real friends," Nina nodded, sitting up. She looked at the picture and let a small smile grace her face. "Amber was my roommate there, and my best friend. Fabian is my best friend, Alfie's like the annoying little brother I don't have, Patricia and I are best friends, even if we got off to a rough start my first year there. I'm not as close with the others, but I'm all their friends." She left out the fact Eddie knew about them.

"I think I remember you writing about some of them in some of your letters Gran forwarded to me," Jayden recalled. "It must hurt to have to leave them like that."

"It does in a way you can't imagine," she sighed. "As much as I wish I was still there, I know I have a job here to do that takes priority." She wiped the tears away. For some reason, whenever she cried now, she remembered the clues of the mysterious that dealt with tears: the tears of glass and the tears of gold. "It hurts even more knowing that they're my friends, and none of them know the real me. They don't know how mom and dad really died, they don't know I'm destined to do this, they don't know Martin isn't my real last name, nothing. I'm trying to keep the two worlds from colliding until the right time. But enough about me. What've you been up to?"

Jayden hugged her briefly and comfortingly before pulling away and answering. "Ji has been having me train a lot since that day. I did manage to make one friend, Antonio. He moved away after a few years, and I haven't seen him since. To be honest, I really don't know much about the real world as you probably do. After all, you're the one who got to live the normal life."

"Not my fault Gran thought that was best," Nina joked. She knew that her brother and sister wouldn't have the same opportunities as she would, but she had a weight bigger than just the sealing symbol on her shoulders.

"No, can't blame that on you," he chuckled. "Did you manage to find time to practice symbols and training while you were away?"

"Let's just say I feel like I'm pretty good at sneaking around now," she smirked. "And I managed to pick up a few tricks on pranking people…"

"You?" Jayden raised an eyebrow. "Pranking people?"

"I'm not the little three year old girl you remember, Jay," she smiled. "Being friends with a couple of my Anubis housemates will do that to you, though."

Before another word could be said, Mia came into room. "Hey, have either of you seen Emily?"

"No," Nina shook her head. "Isn't she here?"

"I don't know," Mia shrugged. "I've been trying to find her."

"I'll go with you," Nina offered, getting up. Every time she heard someone couldn't find someone, it brought back memories of when Rufus had kidnapped Patricia or any one of them. She and Mia walked down the hallway in silence, hoping to find Kevin or Mike and see if either of them knew where Emily was. Nina knew that Jayden would probably stay behind just in case of emergency. The two girls walked around, finally finding Mike and Kevin in the dojo. They saw Mike had Kevin in a headlock.

"Hey, guys," Mia got their attention. "We can't find Emily."

Mike and Kevin froze in their actions.

* * *

After searching the area for Emily, none of them had any luck. They had decided to meet up in the bus station. Mia and Nina were the first ones there, having no luck at all. They saw Kevin running toward them and Mike walking in, the latter eating something he must've picked up during his search. "Any sign of Emily?" Mia asked.

"No," Kevin shook his head.

"Mike, how about you?" Nina looked to the green ranger.

"How about what?" he frowned.

"About Emily," Kevin said. "Were you even looking for her?"

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, but I got hungry. Emily probably went out sightseeing or shopping or something. I'm sure she's okay."

"I don't know," Nina bit her lip. "She's a country girl. She wouldn't wander around the city by herself." Kevin just looked at Mike as he ate the food he had. Mike noticed this and held out the one he was about to eat.

"Wanna bite?" he offered.

"No, thanks," the blue ranger denied. "I never snack between meals while in samurai training."

"When aren't you in training?" Mike questioned.

"Never."

Mia decided to speak up. "Wow. You're really serious about the samurai lifestyle."

"Of course," he replied. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," Mia agreed. "But I'd also want to have a normal life. You know, find my prince charming someday. I'm getting used to the idea that now I'm a samurai, but it's a little scary."

"Well, it's a big adjustment," Kevin stated. "You'll get used to it."

"What about you?" Mia went on. "I heard you left your dreams of swimming in the Olympics to be here, Kevin. Don't you miss it?"

Kevin shook his head. "No. When a samurai decides to serve, he is committed. Forever."

"Wow," Mike blinked. "Forever? That's a long time to go without a snack." Nina looked out the windows and noticed something.

"Hey, there she is," she pointed.

* * *

The rangers reached the small area of the park across the street, where they found Emily practicing her sword work. They all walked over to her together, the yellow ranger not seeing them at all. It was like she was lost in her own world as she practiced. "Emily," Mia called, gaining her attention. The blonde stopped and stood, facing them.

"You've been training all by yourself?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Kevin grinned. "The dedication of a samurai."

"It's not just that," Emily chuckled. "I promised my big sister to work so that I can be as good a fighter as the rest of you."

"Your big sister?" Nina frowned. As far as she knew, she and Jayden were the only ones on the team with siblings. Emily dug out a wooden flute from her back pocket.

Emily looked at it as she explained. "My big sister was supposed to become the yellow ranger, but she got sick. I had to take her place."

"Wow," Mike commented. "That's a lot to ask of you."

"It's been tougher to see her go through her illness," Emily shrugged. "And anyways, I wasn't a superstar at school."

"Don't sell yourself short," Mia advised. Aside from Nina, Emily was the youngest one on the team. The others were all older, closer to Jayden's age, so it wasn't unusual that they wanted to protect the younger two.

"Oh, I do have talents," Emily faced them. "I'm really good at playing the flute, and I can definitely handle a sword. So becoming a power ranger is a fresh start for me."

Kevin was grinning. "Did you hear that? She has the heart of a true samurai warrior."

"You've been training hard," Mika nodded. He took a piece of food from the carton in his hands and held it out to her. "You need this more than I do. Here."

* * *

Once again, the rangers had been caught in a battle. It hadn't gone as well as they hoped it would, but it got the job done. They had all fought off the scorpion Nighlok, who did quite a bit of damage to the city. Most of them had struggled at some point during the fight, and it wasn't pleasant. When the Nighlok grew into its second life, they tried forming the megazord. The first time they did, they accidentally left Jayden out. The second time they tried, they got it right, and all of them had to admit it was pretty cool.

Now, they were all back at the house, having returned from the fight. Dinner was waiting for them when they got there, and all of them were hungry. Nina wasn't all that talkative during the meal, unlike the others. Ji and Jayden were the only two to notice this, but neither questioned it. Once dinner was over, Mia and Emily dragged Nina to their room, wanting to have a girl's night to bond. They didn't know what the guys planned on doing, and they didn't particularly care about that at the moment.

"So, Nina," Emily began as the three sat in a circle on the floor. To the orange ranger, the way they were sitting made it feel like she was back in the attic with Amber and Fabian having a Sibuna meeting. "You seemed awfully quiet during dinner."

"Are you okay?" Mia finished.

Nina sighed. She really didn't want to explain a lot. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little more homesick than I thought."

"I thought you grew up in Panorama City?" Emily frowned.

"I did," Nina nodded."But it just doesn't feel like home anymore. Even though I've practically been living a lie at school, I can't help but feel its home now."

"You lived at school?" Mia asked.

"It was a boarding school in England I got a scholarship to," Nina explained. "I was there for a couple years, and then I had to come here. I had to leave in the middle of the night without saying goodbye to any of my friends and housemates just to make it back here. I even had to break up with a guy I just got back together with."

Mia bit her lip. "That must really suck." Nina nodded. "Do you have a picture of your friends?" Nina grabbed her pillow and pulled the picture of all the house members out from earlier. She showed it to her roommates.

"The guy with his arm wrapped around me is Fabian, the one I had to break up with," Nina explained. "The girl next to me is Patricia, and she's tough but a good friend. Next to Fabian is Alfie, a goofball who loves aliens, behind him is Joy, and next to her is Mick, the athlete. Next to Alfie is Amber, my former pink loving, fashion and relationship guru roommate. Very into anything to do with romance and the color pink. Behind me is Mara, the bookworm of the group, and the guy with his arm around her is Jerome, the king of pranks."

"What about the boy on the armrest?" Mia wondered.

Emily, however, beat her to the answer. "You know Eddie?"

"Who's Eddie?" Mia frowned as Nina nodded.

"He's my cousin," Emily stated. "He used to live with us until his mom sent him to the boarding school so he could get to know his dad better."

"He's the only one there who knows about us," Nina continued. "And I'm hoping he'll be able to explain things without giving too much away. By the way, Emily, he's sitting next to Patricia because he's dating her. When I left, the only ones who weren't in a relationship were Mick and Joy. What about you two? What were your lives like before coming here?"

Mia and Emily took turns telling her about themselves, bringing the three girls closer.

* * *

A/N: Not the best chapter I've ever written, but oh well. Up next is another HOA chapter. What'll happen in that one?


	4. House of Thoughts

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 4: House of Thoughts**

_A/N: Okay, so I decided that when I do a chapter that involves HOA characters (and is based on them), the chapter title will have "House of…" as the first part of it. Anyway, in the last chapter based on HOA, the others discovered Nina had left, and they learned that Eddie knows something about it. Will he finally tell them what he knows? What about Fabian, who had his heart broken?_

_Chapters based on HOA are going to be shorter than my normal sized chapters._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

"Come on dude," Eddie groaned, trying to get Fabian out of bed. It had been a few days since Nina had left, meaning a few days since the others discovered she had gone and that she had broken up with Fabian. They had to admit the way she said it was a bit harsh, but they weren't going to take sides on it. Fabian had refused to leave his room, only leaving to go to the bathroom. Trudy had managed to get him out of school for the day, considering the state of mind he was in. "Get up."

"No," Fabian denied, speaking into the pillow. "I am not leaving. Leave me alone."

Eddie had been trying to get him out of bed since they discovered Nina left, and so far, nothing was working. Everyone had given it a try, but Eddie wasn't going to give up. He hadn't explained things yet to anyone, even though he knew he probably should. They were all still upset about Nina leaving, and what surprised them was that Joy seemed upset about it too. "It's been three days. You know that if she didn't have to do this, she wouldn't have."

"And how do you know?" Fabian demanded. "How do you possibly know more about this than I do?"

"Maybe because my cousins are in the same situation Nina is in?" Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. "I have family that lives where she does."

"And what exactly is happening that she had to go back?" Fabian turned around, looking at his roommate. Eddie could tell by the way he looked that Fabian had gotten little to no sleep at all. "Why the hell wouldn't we understand why she had to go back?"

Before Eddie could respond, the door opened. "Guys, you got to see this," Patricia spoke. "Come on!" Eddie pulled Fabian up from his bed and into a standing position before pushing him out of the room. The American grabbed his laptop before following his girlfriend and roommate to the living room, where everyone was seated around the TV. On screen the news played, getting to the section of the world news.

"What's up with the freaks in the brightly colored suits?" Jerome remarked when they sat down. "I mean, seriously, they look like a rainbow threw up on them."

"You're seriously going to bag on the world's heroes?" Eddie scoffed. "Nice."

"What do you mean, world's heroes?" Mick looked to his other roommate. Since he had returned, he was in his old room with Fabian and Eddie.

"Guys, quiet down so we can listen," Amber shushed. She turned up the volume on the TV.

The news report dragged on. _"In today's world news, the world's newest team of Power Rangers have arrived to stop the forces of evil from taking over the world." _It showed a few clips from the first couple of battles. _"These brave heroes haven't been seen in a few years, and now that evil forces are growing stronger, they finally showed up to protect us, and they're doing it from Panorama City in California, USA."_

"Power rangers?" Alfie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, right. Like there's a giant evil threatening the world."

"There is," Eddie stated, drawing all attention to him. "That's why Nina left. Those creatures the rangers fight off are attacking her hometown."

"But if they're doing that, then why would she leave?" Amber blinked, not quite understanding.

"How do you know so much about this?" Mara asked.

Eddie sighed as he pulled up a few things on his laptop. "My cousins live there, and I used to live in a town where rangers were when I was little. Nina said her Gran asked her to go home for safety reasons, and can you honestly blame her?"

"So, what exactly is this about?" Joy frowned as they all gathered around Eddie, looking at what he brought up on the computer.

"Power rangers have been around since the nineties," Eddie explained. "They've saved the world from evil villains who tried to take over it." He pulled up a bunch of news clippings and videos, playing them all to prove his point. "It's all highly real. It's odd that their enemy only attacks one city, and it's odd how it always seems to be in California, but that's just how it is."

"So let's say I believe all this," Patricia began. "What would happen if they lose and can't protect the world?"

"Then the entire population of Earth is either killed or enslaved," Eddie bit his lip. "It all depends on who's trying to take over the world."

"And what does that have to do with her not being able to contact us?" Fabian finally spoke, drawing attention to him. He ignored their looks as he waited for Eddie to respond.

Eddie knew he had to lie about this part. "Well, the attacks can get pretty destructive, and half the time they knock out power lines, making everyone unable to call, email, text, whatever. Half the time mail carriers are afraid to go get and deliver mail, making it hard for letters to be sent."

"Why doesn't everyone in that city just leave?" Mick wondered. "It seems kinda stupid that they would stay."

"It's because they have lives they can't abandon just because the city's being attacked," Eddie stated. "Some people do evacuate, but most don't. Some who stay find bigger homes to move into, and they live there with a few families. My cousins are doing that with some of our friends and their families."

None of them had noticed Fabian get up and leave. Before anyone could say another word, Eddie's computer beeped, signaling someone wanted to video chat. He hit the accept call button and an image of Nina popped up. They were all shocked to see Nina getting in touch so soon, but they were glad she did.

"Nina!" they all shouted at once. They could tell she had headphones in, so they were wondering if she even heard them.

"_Hey, guys," _she gave a small smile.

"Nina Martin how could you leave without saying goodbye?" Amber whined. Nina could see everyone on the screen except for Fabian, who wasn't in the room.

"_Sorry Amber," _Nina apologized. _"But the quicker I got back here, the safer it would've been." _

"Eddie explained it to us just now," Patricia stated. "How much of it is true?"

"_All of it," _Nina replied. _"If I didn't have to come home, I would still be there."_

Alfie decided to ask the next question. "So why exactly did you have to leave? Are aliens really attacking?"

"_They're not technically aliens, but yes," _she answered. _"I had to leave because my Gran would feel safer if I was here with her, and to be honest, I would feel safer being here with my Gran than being there while this is going on."_

"Why are you talking softly?" Mara wondered, having noticed it and the headphones.

"_My Gran moved us to live with one of her friends and a few other families for more protection," _Nina sighed. _"The adults set up the rule that since it would be difficult to contact people who don't live in the city, that it would be easier to only contact people outside it if it's an emergency, like if one of us was severely injured or dying. At least that's the rule until we get used to things here. I'm actually not supposed to be chatting right now."_

No one knew what to say, creating an awkward pause.

"_Is Fabian there?" _Nina decided to speak.

"I'll go get him," Eddie offered. He stood with his laptop and walked toward his room, finding Fabian lying on his bed. He shut the door behind him and handed the laptop over to his roommate. "Someone wants to talk to you."

Once the laptop was in Fabian's hands, Eddie left the room and shut the door behind him. Fabian looked to the screen to see Nina. "Nina…"

"_I guess I should start with explaining what I can," _Nina commented, hoping to get this out of the way before she couldn't say anything.

* * *

A/N: As I said, these chapters are going to be short. Up next is another one for the samurai rangers' POV. I promise in the next HOA chapter, I will have a flashback of Fabian and Nina's conversation.


	5. The Team Unites

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 5: The Team Unites**

_A/N: Okay, so last time, the rangers finally are a team, and now, they are on their way to saving the world. It's only a week later, and the rangers are all trying to get along. No one knows much about Nina yet, mainly because she doesn't talk a lot about her home life. So, what'll happen when everyone tries to get along and Mike starts having trouble?_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

It was a new morning a week later, and the samurai were falling into a new schedule. After last week, things had gotten a little better for all of them. Nina was feeling better after having been allowed to call her Anubis friends to explain to them about her sudden disappearance, Ji only granting her permission because no one there had any idea she was going to leave like this. As of this moment, she, Ji, and Jayden stood side by side near the house, watching Mia and Emily spar as Kevin and Mike practiced their techniques.

"The life of a samurai must be one of discipline and order," Ji spoke out loud. "Samurai must constantly improve their skills to ready themselves for battle." Kevin accidentally whacked Mike in the head with the training sword.

"Are you okay?" Jayden walked over as everyone paused in what they were doing. Nina went to stand with Mia and Emily.

"Of course," Mike answered, rubbing his shoulder.

"Get into your opponent's head," Jayden advised. "Use your instincts to sense their next move and feel their attack coming." Without looking, he swung his sword backward, knowing Kevin was behind him. The blue ranger ducked and dodged as Jayden turned and swung a couple more times.

Mike was impressed. "Wow, Kevin. That's amazing." He was hit in the other shoulder with the sword, this time it being Jayden who hit him.

"Mike, always keep your guard up," he stated.

"Mike, let me ask you…" Ji began, stopping when Jayden hit Mike in the back of the shoulder. Mike was distracted by Ji talking to him, as they could all tell.

"Hey, that's not fair," he whined. "You distracted me." Jayden shrugged. "Okay, I get it. Let me try again. One more time." He and Jayden got ready to go at it. Jayden swung low, causing the green ranger to jump and flip over the sword. However, his plan didn't work out as he was soon smacked in the butt with the sword.

"Now watch this," Jayden swung once more, aiming for Kevin who was still behind him. The two became locked in a small fight, both dodging the other's attacks. Kevin had leaned back and almost did a back flip before jumping back to his feet, which, unfortunately for him, caused his pants to fall down.

Mia, Emily, and Nina immediately dissolved into giggles at the sight of the blue ranger's white polka dotted blue underwear. Even Jayden couldn't help but seem a bit amused by it.

Then Emily noticed something. "Hey, where did Mike go?"

* * *

After practice, Nina found herself sitting in the common room. Her zord was out and moving around the room, mainly on the table. Nina sat in one of the chairs cross legged, holding her necklace in her hands. She had the locket open, revealing the picture of the young Sarah. Every day she found herself looking at it, reminding herself of her time back at Anubis House. The dirty blonde had no idea what was possessing her to continue to look at it, but she did so anyway.

"What's that?" a new voice asked. Nina quickly shut the locket and clutched it in her hands, looking up to find her brother enter the room. She noticed the lion zord joined her ocelot zord, and the two were playing with each other. Jayden took a seat on the chair next to hers and spotted the locket.

"It's nothing," she spoke, trying to hide it.

"It looks like an oddly shaped necklace," Jayden pointed out. He knew his sister was trying to hide it, but he was quicker. "It looks like an eye."

"Because it is an eye," Nina rolled hers. "It's the Eye of Horus, to be exact."

Jayden nodded, not really knowing the significance behind it. "And where did you get that? Your boarding school?"

"Kinda," she shrugged. "An old lady I ran into on the first day there gave it to me. She said her name was Sarah, but the nursing home she lived at said her name was Emily. It really was Sarah, and I went to visit her a lot. She eventually passed away my first year there. After all, she was old. Somewhere in her nineties, I think."

"Was that a picture of her in the locket?" Jayden wondered. Nina nodded as their zords climbed over to them.

Ji entered the room, bringing their attention to him. "Have either of you seen Mike?"

"No," the red ranger replied. "What's going on?"

"No one's seen him since he left practice this morning," Ji stated.

"Where did he go?" Nina frowned.

* * *

A while later, the Gap Sensor had gone off, telling the rangers there was an attack. They had arrived on the scene, morphed, only to find Mike already there. He was morphed as well, and people were still running away screaming. The Nighlok they were about to face seemed to be red and green and his arms were his biggest weapon. Jayden had interfered and prevented Mike from getting further injured. The Nighlok was pushed back and the others ran to help Mike get to his feet. Jayden ended up being knocked back and away.

"Even the red ranger can't see what's going on underground," the Nighlok cackled.

"Are you guys okay?" Mia asked as she and Emily helped the two civilians behind Jayden get up. Kevin and Nina helped Jayden stand up.

"Sure," he nodded. "Now let's take this creep!"

"Uh oh," the Nighlok frowned. "It feels like I'm starting to dry up. Guess I'd better punch out for now. Later, rangers." He disappeared into gap, leaving the rangers alone.

* * *

"Thank goodness you were there," Ji spoke as the girls tended to Mike's wounds. He had fought off the Nighlok more than the others had been able to, so he had a few more injuries than the others. Kevin and Jayden stood near Ji. "You prevented that Nighlok from injuring lots of people." Mike pulled his shirt back over his head once the girls finished up and moved to sit on the chairs.

"We came as soon as we heard," Jayden added.

"I thought I could take him alone," Mike sighed.

"That was brave of you," Kevin stated. "But imagine what could have happened."

"I know," the green ranger nodded.

Jayden decided to speak once more. "Mike, being a samurai is the ultimate sacrifice. Since we're fighting evil, you must stay away from your family and friends in order to keep them safe."

"I realize that now," Mike assured. "But I at least got to go check on my friends." He stood and walked out, ignoring Ji as he did so.

* * *

Nina was unsure of what to do as night fell. They hadn't seen Mike since earlier when he left to go check up on his friends, and they were all wondering where he was. Everyone was getting ready to go to bed. Well, almost everyone. Nina knew her brother was outside practicing, despite it being night. She, Mia, and Emily were all relaxing in their room, flipping through some magazines they had bought or reading books. Nina herself was reading another book on Egyptian mythology. After solving two mysteries, she had figured that she might as well read up on things in case another one should happen. Of course, if another one did happen, then she wouldn't be there to help solve it.

There was music playing softly throughout the room, making it not completely silent. The girls figured the boys were probably going to go to bed early, but they weren't tired at all. Well, maybe a little bit, but none of them were tired enough to fall asleep for the night. If the Nighlok didn't show up in the morning, then that meant they still had training. Then again, when a Nighlok would appear is unpredictable.

"Hey, Nina," Emily looked to the dirty blonde in the room. "Are you there?"

Nina blinked and looked at her two roommates, who were looking at her with concern. "Yeah, why?"

"You were zoning out again," Mia stated. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Nina frowned. She hadn't realized she was zoning out. She felt she's been doing that a lot since she got back home.

"Were you thinking about that boarding school again?" Emily wondered. Nina had told them about the school and her friends there, but made sure to keep the Sibuna things a secret. The orange ranger figured they would eventually find out, but it wasn't the right time for them to.

Nina nodded. "It's hard to adjust to being back here. I can't stop thinking about being back there. It was pretty hard to explain to them why I had to leave without giving anything away, especially since what happened my first year there."

"What happened?" Mia sat up a bit.

"The day I arrived, one of the students who lived in the house went missing," Nina explained. "Or, well, not exactly missing, but just left out of the blue without warning or anything. I feel like, even though I still explained things the best I could, they'll start to think that the same happened to me."

"What happened to that student?" Emily asked.

"She returned by the end of the year," Nina shrugged. "And she was there for the next year. Everything worked itself out in the end. It always does."

* * *

Not long after breakfast, the samurai rangers found themselves running to the scene of the fight. The Gap Sensor had gone off as they were cleaning up their breakfast dishes. Mike hadn't returned the previous night, and they were worried something had happened to him. When they had arrived, they found the Nighlok terrorizing people with moogers. "Hey, Nighlok," Jayden called to Rofer.

"Punching bags," he spotted five of the six samurai. "You're back."

"Samurizer," they echoed. "Go Go Samurai!" They all stood together as they morphed. "Samurai ranger, ready! Rangers together, Samurai forever."

"Hey," Rofer frowned, realizing they were one short. "Where's your green ranger buddy? Now that it's crunch time, broccoli boy went bye-bye?"

Out of nowhere, they heard Mike's voice. "Hey! Looking for me?" they turned to see him running in. He stood in front of his teammates. "I'm gonna take this Nighlok alone."

"You can't," Kevin denied.

"I'm gonna try," Mike insisted. "It's payback time. Samurizer, go go samurai!"

* * *

After the long fight and finally destroying the Nighlok, the rangers found themselves back at the Shiba house. Mike had managed to outsmart the Nighlok and tangle his arms, giving the rangers an advantage in attacking him. Taking Rofer down at megazord size was easier than defeating him at normal size. Of course, it was only their second time using the megazord, so they were still getting used to it. Now, all of them were walking into the common room, talking about the fight.

"Good work, Mike," Jayden praised.

"Yeah, you were great," Nina agreed.

"The way you tricked that Nighlok was beyond creative," Mia added.

"It was so cool how you used those wacky arms against him," Emily smiled.

Kevin patted Mike on the shoulder. "Yeah, couldn't have done it better myself."

"Well," Mike started. "The truth is…I did trick him, but it wasn't enough. Actually, it was Jayden who helped me defeat him. I only anticipated the attack from one of his arms. Jayden got the other one. I couldn't have done it without him."

"We can do anything as a team," Jayden stated. They all smiled and put their hands in the center of the circle they had formed.

"Rangers together, samurai forever!"

* * *

A/N: So not the best one, but it works. Up next is another HOA chapter.


	6. House of Recovery

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 6: House of Recovery**

_A/N: Well, here's the next HOA chapter. I will include a flashback of Fabian and Nina's conversation from chapter 4 that I didn't write in, so that'll be here. Now that Nina had contacted them and explained a few things, can they go back to normal? What about Fabian? What's on his mind in this chapter? _

_As my other HOA chapters are, this may be a bit short. _

_Also, if I don't update this on Thursdays like I said I would, the chapters will defiantely be uploaded that Friday. I was planning on updating yesterday, but since my town is going to be hit with a major snowstorm all day, I was helping my parents get ready for it. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Now that it was a week or so after Nina had left and video chatted with them, everyone was feeling better, even Fabian. From what they could tell, they knew she was safe and sound, wherever she was exactly. Eddie was still the only one who knew her real reason for leaving, but he couldn't tell it to anyone, not even Fabian, who had been the most hurt from her leaving. However, since the video chat, the others seemed to notice he was starting to return to his normal self. Things were hopefully going to get better for him. The eight residents of Anubis house knew things were going to change. Mick had gone back to Australia, so now it was just the eight of them left.

"So, Fabian," Amber looked to the boy sitting next to her, everyone in their usual seats around the table, eating breakfast. "You still haven't told us what you talked about with Nina."

"Does it really matter, Amber?" the nerd retorted. "What Nina and I talked about shouldn't matter."

"Fabian, you're talking to Amber Millington," Patricia stated. "She's the queen of relationship advice. You know all she wants to know is if you and Nina are back together and gonna try the long distance thing or not."

"Yeah Rutter," Jerome butted in. "Please, enlighten us." Mara lightly smacked his shoulder for being a bit rude. "What?"

Mara rolled her eyes. "Fabian will tell us if he wants to. We shouldn't be pressuring him."

"Thank you, Mara," Fabian thanked. At least someone was on his side.

"Oh come on," Alfie chuckled. "You know she's probably just as curious as the rest of us are about you and Nina."

Fabian, wanting to get away before he was interrogated further, stood up and cleaned his plate. When he did that, he grabbed his things and headed off for the school building.

"Well," Eddie spoke a moment later. "That was rather successful."

* * *

Fabian didn't need to tell his friends what he and Nina had talked about. This was a mystery for him and him alone to solve, and he was determined to do so. Nina had told him a few things she hadn't told the others, and to him, it seemed as if she wanted him to figure out the exact reason why she had left. From what both his roommate and ex girlfriend told him, he knew it had something to do with Power Rangers. He wasn't sure what exactly, but he was determined to figure it out.

As he walked, he couldn't help but think back to their conversation.

_Fabian was just lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling once again. Power Rangers? To him, it seemed ridiculous, but reasonable. The news wouldn't lie, would it? He also knew Nina wouldn't lie unless she absolutely had to or if it was for a good reason. Nina wasn't even the best liar. The brunette was shaken from his thoughts and sat up as Eddie walked in, his laptop in hands. "Someone wants to talk to you." Eddie handed his roommate the laptop before leaving, shutting the door behind him._

_Fabian looked to the screen to see Nina. "Nina…"_

"_I guess I should start with explaining what I can," Nina commented, hoping to get this out of the way. Fabian was still shocked he was seeing her. "But first, put in some headphones. I'm going to tell you a few things the others can't hear, and they're probably waiting by the door trying to eavesdrop."_

"_Okay," Fabian nodded. He reached in his nightstand drawer and grabbed a set of headphones, plugging them in and putting them on. "All right."_

"_Good," Nina sighed of relief. "Fabian, believe me when I say if I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't have. I would give anything to be back there, but I'm needed here."_

"_I read your letter," Fabian stated. "I believe what you said in it."_

_Nina smiled a little. "Then that might making explaining things easier. Eddie told you guys about power rangers and that stuff, right?" Fabian nodded, prompting her to continue. "All of that is completely true. Power rangers are something residents of California can't lie about. However, there are a few things I did lie about to all of you and kept secret from all of you."_

"_Like what?" Fabian frowned. _

"_Remember how I said my parents died in a car accident?" she bit her lip. Fabian nodded. "Well, it was a lie."_

"_They're not dead?" the brunette blinked._

"_No no no, they are," Nina corrected. "I lied about how they died. They didn't die in a car crash, but my Gran had to come up with something for their obituaries. I don't remember them much at all, but I remember how they died. I saw them die."_

_Fabian saw talking about her parents was going to hurt her, so he changed the subject. "What else do you need to tell me?"_

"_My Gran isn't the only family I have left," she admitted. "I lied about that too. My Gran is my Gran, but I have two older siblings."_

"_Two?" Fabian sat up a bit. Nina never mentioned this at all. _

"_Yes, two," she nodded. "I'm the youngest. I haven't seen either of them since I was three. We were separated for our own protection when we were young. My brother was five, and my sister was seven at the time. The girl I mentioned in the PS part of my letter to you is my older sister."_

"_Why didn't you tell me about them before?" Fabian wondered._

_Nina sighed. "Like I said, we were separated at a young age for our own protection. Lauren left before my brother and I did. She traveled the world a lot. My brother, Jayden, got to stay at our family's house with the guy who's kind of like our surrogate dad now, I guess. I, on the other hand, went to live with my Gran and have a normal life. Well, as normal as it could get when you're known as The Chosen One." Fabian frowned, wondering why she was whispering the last part._

"_Is there anything else I should know?" he asked._

"_Fabian, what I'm doing is going to take a long time," Nina stated. "I know you can figure out the exact reason why I left, and if you want, ask Eddie to help. I won't be able to contact you all often. I'm trying to convince the head of the house to at least let us email friends and other relatives to at least let them know we're still alive."_

"_How long do you think it could take?" Fabian questioned, trying to process everything he was hearing. _

"_That's the part no one knows," Nina bit her lip. "Most other times it's happened, it's gone on for almost a year, so it's hard to tell."_

_Fabian wasn't sure what to say, so Nina continued. "You know how being the Chose One has to do with my birthday, right? Like it was something I was born into?"_

"_Yeah, but what does that have to do with it?" Fabian frowned._

"_Like being the Chosen One, this is something I was born into," Nina went on. "I can't ignore the duties I have, like I couldn't ignore my job as the Chosen One, if that makes any sense."_

"_It does clear up a few things," Fabian admitted. "But what about us?"_

_The American girl was dreading this part of the conversation. "As much as I really hate to do this, it'll be better for us to…breakup. I won't be able to get in touch often, and with us halfway around the world from each other, and me doing what I have to here, it just won't work right now. And the only other reason I'm calling it off is to protect you."_

"_From what?" the science geek suddenly became confused. _

"_You'll figure it out," Nina repeated her earlier statement. "But promise me, no matter what, you'll protect the cup and mask from anyone or anything that may try to take it?"_

"_I promise," Fabian nodded. _

"_I gotta go," Nina gave him one last smile. "I love you." _

_Before he had a chance to say it back, she was gone._

Fabian replayed most of the things that confused him in their conversation. She wanted him to figure out why exactly she left and what exactly Eddie had told them had to do with it. It was something only he could figure out and had to keep secret when he did. That made him want to figure it out even more, if it was something for only him to know. Then again, she said Eddie knew exactly why as well.

There was only one problem to this mystery.

Where did he start?

* * *

A/N: So Fabian and Nina broke up, but don't worry, they will be back together by the end of the story. Up next is Deal With a Nighlok, I believe.


	7. Day Off

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 7: Day Off**

_A/N: Here's the next ranger based chapter. I skipped "Deal With a Nighlok" because I couldn't find many places to put Nina in it. So this is going to be based on the Day Off episode. There are a couple ranger episodes I am planning to skip because there's not much places where Nina can be put in, but I will try to do a good chunk of them. So what'll happen on the day off? _

_For the sake of this story, instead of the samurai fighting for two years, it's going to be one, but I'm still going to squeeze all the episodes into this. I want it to be so that Nina isn't away too long and can go back for her final year of school at Anubis House. _

_Happy Valentine's Day!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

It was a week or so later and the rangers were kind of doing their own thing. Since the attack from Rofer, they only had one more. A Nighlok had been trying to make a deal with a baseball loving kid, which caused Kevin to stakeout the kid's house. They had learned Mia can't cook very well, but none of them wanted to admit it. As usual, however, they managed to get the day back to normal by destroying the Nighlok. Now, they were all doing their own thing.

Kevin was practicing his sword work on a training dummy as Mia and Emily were sparring again. Nina, Jayden, and Mike were currently nowhere to be seen. "Hey guys!" the green ranger called as he walked in, helmet on his head and skateboard in his hands. "Guess what."

"You overslept?" Kevin snorted. "Again."

"Yeah, well, that's nothing new," Mike huffed.

"So what's up?" Emily asked.

Mike grinned. "Ji just told me he wanted us to take the day off."

"Really?"

"This isn't a joke?" Mia raised an eyebrow.

"But, we just started our workout," Kevin frowned.

"Dude," Mike began. "You're telling me you're gonna disobey a direct order from your samurai mentor?"

Kevin thought for a moment. "Well, I guess not."

"What to do?" Mia mused. "I could shop for shoes that aren't designed for fighting monsters, or I could catch a flick."

"But it's such a beautiful day," Emily pointed out. "It'd be a shame to stay cooped up inside."

"Em, I could teach you how to shred," Mike offered.

"Well," Emily bit her lip. "I was thinking Rainbow's End. I've never been on a roller coaster before."

Mike looked shocked. "What? Never?"

"They don't have amusement parks out where I'm from," Emily shrugged.

"Then it's settled," Mia smiled.

"Rainbow's End here we come!" Mike cheered. The four began to move out of the dojo, running into Nina as they reached the door to the room.

"Hey, Nina, we're going to the amusement park," Emily spoke. "Wanna come?"

Nina shook her head. "There's a few things I gotta do here first. I'll catch up with you guys later." She walked out of the room in the opposite direction of the other four, who ran into Jayden on their way out.

* * *

Not very long after Mia, Mike, Emily, and Kevin had left, Nina found herself sitting in her room, on her bed. Her laptop sat open on her lap as she checked out a few things. The first thing she wanted to check out was her school's online blog and see what was going on with that. She knew that the Jack Jackal thing was still going strong, despite the few incidents that had occurred with it. After she finished reading the latest news at the school, she decided on checking her email.

The minute she logged on she found a bunch of new messages, one from each of her housemates. She smiled, thanking god that Ji had caved and was now allowing them to email friends and family. The first email she opened was one from Mick, who had said that he had gone back to Australia for school. Nina sent a quick reply before moving on to Mara's message. After sending a reply to the bookworm, she read Jerome's email.

Nina sent him a reply before moving on to read Alfie's. She had to chuckle when he asked her if she met any aliens yet, causing her to reply to it. Following his, she read Joy's, who she was surprised to get one from. Nina gave a reply to her as well, asking the brunette to do something for her, and then proceeded to read the email from Patricia. Following that, she read the email from Amber, who was giving her all the latest gossip she had missed in the month she had been gone.

When she got to Eddie's email, she understood what he was talking about. She sent a reply assuring him that his cousin was fine and that she may or may not have mentioned to Emily that Eddie has a girlfriend, and she had also asked him to help Fabian learn the secret, emphasizing "help" and not telling him. After that was done, she moved onto Fabian's email. The dirty blonde couldn't help but smile when she read his. It was clear to her he was a bit confused about what they had discussed in their video chat session, but he was determined to figure it out.

After she sent a nice reply to him, she closed down her laptop. She got up and decided that she could try and catch up with the others, but hearing a thud from outside caused her to follow it. When she reached the source of the noise, she found Ji picking up Jayden's spin sword and Jayden sitting up on the gravel. "You're not ready to use the beetle just yet," Ji stated. "You're literally playing with fire."

Ji stood and the two began to walk over to the red ranger. "Jayden, you must be prepared to give one hundred percent of yourself," their mentor continued. "Not just physically, but mentally."

"But I'm giving a hundred and ten percent," Jayden breathed as he began getting to his feet.

"Yes," Ji nodded. "But you're lacking balance in your life. You're pushing yourself too hard. And that's not letting you be at your best."

"Yeah, maybe I am pushing myself too hard," Jayden shrugged. "But I'm the red ranger now. I have to be the best and keep getting better." He took the spin sword from Ji. The older man sighed and headed back for the house.

Nina, however, looked at the red ranger. "I understand why you stayed behind today. But from what I can remember, there was a time when you were younger when we both trained hard. But we still allowed ourselves to have fun. I know you wanted to go with the others."

"The Nighlok grow stronger," Jayden huffed. "I must master the beetle disk before it's too late."

"The responsibility we bear is great," Nina continued. "But while you need to master the disk, you also need to master balance in your life as a samurai."

"Where did you learn that?" Jayden wondered, as he moved to begin practicing again.

"Gran taught me that," Nina stated. "You've changed a lot more than I thought you had. It's like you're not the Jayden I know anymore."

She left him alone, wanting to give him privacy.

* * *

"That was fun," Mia commented as the four other rangers sat down at a table in the amusement park. All four had ice cream cones in their hands and sodas in front of them. They had gone on quite a few rides and played a few games, but they had yet to go on a roller coaster. They were all hoping Jayden and Nina would join them before the day's end so all six could enjoy it, but at the moment, it didn't seem like either ranger was coming.

"Anyone wonder what's going on between Jayden and Nina?" Mike asked, looking at the other three. He had noticed a few things about the orange and red rangers that made him wonder what was going on between them.

"What do you mean, Mike?" Kevin wondered. Unlike the green ranger, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Mike shrugged. "I mean, anyone notice how they both don't always train when we do, yet they still kick ass? Or even the fact that Jayden really only seems to talk to her more than he does the rest of us, and Nina seems to talk to him a bit more than she does us. And today, when she declined to come with us it didn't seem like something she would do. I mean, I kind of expected from Jayden since the guy practically doesn't sleep, but I thought Nina would join us."

"So…what are you trying to get to?" Emily frowned.

"I think they're secretly dating," Mike theorized. Emily and Mia shared looks before giggling as Kevin just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What? What's so wrong with that idea?"

"Nothing," Emily bit her lip. "But they aren't dating. Nina said she had broken up with her boyfriend just before she got here."

"Plus she also grew up here, in the city," Mia added. "It wouldn't surprise me if she and Jayden were childhood friends or something. It's possible that because they're both fire elements, they may have trained together when they were little. I doubt they're dating."

"Well, where's the proof of it?" Mike challenged.

Mia replied. "She has a scrapbook filled of pictures of her and her ex that her former roommate created for them. She showed it to us."

"I'm still sticking with my theory," Mike surrendered. "Something's going on between them, and I'm going to find out what it is."

"Whatever you say, Mike," Kevin chuckled. "But I believe the girls. They know Nina better than your or I do, and it makes sense that what they said is true."

"Whatever," Mike mumbled, right before the group of four heard screams.

After the fight against the Nighlok the first time, all the rangers were sitting in the common room. The chairs were set up in a circle so they could all talk and face each other at the same time. The fight hadn't gone too well, considering none of their attacks did anything to hurt the Nighlok. The only time they got damage done to the enemy was when they attacked at the same time. The others had noticed the new disk Jayden had, but only Nina knew what it really was.

"Man," Mike sighed. "That monster was working some bad mojo."

"I don't mean to sound like that Nighlok," Mia spoke. "But our spin swords and symbol power were, well, useless."

"It's scary to think what he could've done to us if he hadn't dried out," Kevin muttered.

"No thanks," Emily frowned. "I'd rather think about how we can beat him."

"Exactly, Emily," Ji nodded. "Fear is the enemy. If you believe in yourselves, you can win any battle. Confidence is what brings power."

_Where were these pep talks when Sibuna needed them?_ Nina mused as she once again got lost in her memory.

Mike interrupted Ji's speech. "You weren't there. Our weapons couldn't touch him."

"That's not true," Nina snapped back to reality, having realized something. "We did injure him."

"I've been working on mastering a new power," Jayden stood up. He pulled out the disk from earlier and held it up.

"So that's what you've been doing today," Mia realized.

"A new disk," Kevin gasped in awe. "What is it?"

Ji decided to explain. "There are secret disks passed down from previous generations of samurai."

"Most of them have been lost in battle," Jayden continued. "This may be the only one left. With this, we at least stand a chance of beating the Nighlok."

"However," Ji finished up. "In order to master this disk, one needs double the samurai power they already have."

"Don't worry," Jayden assured. "You all focus on recovery."

"But twice as much power?" Mike raised an eyebrow. "Can you really handle that?"

Jayden nodded. "Thanks to Ji, I've been trained to believe I can do anything I put my mind to."

"So why didn't you use it earlier?" Mike asked.

"Next time," Jayden answered, before walking out of the room.

* * *

"So, Nina," Mia began as the girls were trying to fall asleep. None of them could seem to get any sleep, and they figured that maybe talking about random things could help them start to feel the least bit tired. Mia and Emily decided to see if they could find out if Mike's idea from earlier was true. "What's going on between you and Jayden?"

"Nothing, why?" Nina frowned. She was wondering where that came from.

"Well, you two seem to be awfully close," Emily pointed out. "And you both seem to talk to each other more than you talk to the rest of us. Mike thought it was because you two were secretly dating."

Upon hearing that, Nina couldn't help but laugh. Of course, she kept her laughter down, not wanting to wake the others in the house. "What's so funny?" Mia wondered.

"Me and Jayden dating?" Nina started to calm her laughter. "Yeah right! That would be completely disgusting!"

"Why?" Emily sat up, even more curious.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Nina sighed. "I mean, I just can't picture myself dating him in a million years. Besides, I love Fabian, even if we aren't together anymore."

"That's what we thought," Mia stated. "Mike thinks you and Jayden are dating, so he was curious."

"I think he has a bet going on with Kevin about whether or not you two are," Emily added.

Nina shook her head before lying down. "Then Mike's going to be out of luck."

* * *

It wasn't until afternoon the next day that everything was back to normal. Jayden had spent the previous night training to master the new disc, only for Ji to find him passed out in the yard in the morning. The others had gone to fight off the Nighlok when Ji went to get Jayden. After the red ranger joined the fight, the rangers combined their discs with Jayden's weapon, and they were able to take down the Nighlok, even when it grew back.

Now, as a reward for the efforts and since the previous one was ruined, Ji gave them the rest of the day off. The team, Nina and Jayden included this time, found themselves back at Rainbow's End, hoping to finally ride the rollercoaster. Nina and Jayden had gone over to the snack stand, grabbing food for everyone. "Next time," Nina looked to her brother. "Don't train yourself to the point of exhaustion. It's not good for your health."

"Another thing Gran told you?" Jayden raised an eyebrow as they headed back over to the group, each carrying three sticks of cotton candy.

"What do you think?" Nina rolled her eyes. "Half the things I know like that I got from things she's told me."

"Thought so," Jayden shook his head, slightly amused. The two reached the other four rangers, who had been standing waiting for them.

"I'm so glad that Mentor gave us another day off," Mia commented as the two approached.

"It's only fair," Mike added. "Since our last one involved scrapping with a Nighlok."

Kevin spoke his piece. "Well, if Mentor felt it was all right, I guess I shouldn't argue."

"Who is gonna argue with cotton candy?" Emily asked as she saw Nina and Jayden holding the snack. Nina and Jayden handed them out to the others once they reached them.

"This isn't really in line with my training diet," Kevin remarked as he took his.

"That's true," Jayden shrugged. "But it's okay. Cotton candy or a day off from training can be good for you. Ji reminded me that keeping balance in life is important. It lets us be at our best." Kevin took a giant bite of the treat.

"Come on you stick in the mud," Mike grinned. "The rides are this way!"

"Gosh, my first rollercoaster!" Emily smiled as the three girls followed the two boys, Jayden following them.

* * *

A/N: Well, here's this chapter. The next episode after this is "Sticks and Stones."

Also, the others won't know Nina and Jayden are brother and sister until "Test of the Leader."


	8. House of Normal

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 8: House of Normal**

_A/N: Here's the next chapter based on HOA characters. Not all of them will have Fabian's view in it, since it's about all the HOA characters. Anyway, I'm not sure how this chapter will go, or what I'm going to have in it. I'm just going to let my fingers run over the keyboard and see what they type. And as I said before, the HOA chapters may be short._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

It had been about a month since Nina had left, and everyone was used to the fact that if whatever was going on to cause her to leave didn't happen, then she would still be here. Eddie was still the only one to know the exact reason for her sudden departure, and Fabian was determined to find out that exact reason. The previous week, they had gotten a giant email from Nina that she sent to Amber, knowing the blonde would share it with everyone. In it, she had stated that she was allowed to email friends and family and such, but she wasn't sure how often that would happen and that she would try her best to reply to emails they sent ASAP.

After hearing that, they had each sent her an email, and they even told Mick that Nina could email people now. Since he had known Nina, they figured he should know that she could email people as well. That was last week. Since then, nothing new had come up. It had been just another average week at school, with everyone doing their own thing. Mara and Jerome were becoming even more like a couple with each passing day, and the other couples had been doing their own thing.

It was the following Friday after school when Joy had decided to check her email, hoping Nina had replied to the one she sent. Joy knew Nina probably wouldn't expect an email from her, especially after the way the brunette treated her, but she had to try. The girl had wanted to ask Nina about a few things, and she was hoping the dirty blonde would reply. Joy smiled to herself when she pulled up her inbox and saw she had a message from Nina. She clicked it open and read what it said.

_Joy,_

_I have to admit I am a little surprised you emailed me. I got everyone's emails and found time to reply to them today. Anyway, I read yours and I have to say thanks for keeping me updated on some of the things going on there. I also read the latest stories on the Jack Jackal page, and they're really good. _

_This is going to be short, since I don't really know what else to talk to you about at the moment. I need to ask you a favor. It may sound a bit selfish and weird why I would ask you to do this, but there isn't anyone else there that could do a good job of it._

_Watch out for Fabian, for me. If he starts to move on and dates other people, make sure that he's happy and that whoever he dates doesn't hurt him. If you two end up together, even if it's just because you decided to help me out with this, then it's fine. I know you still have a crush on him, and even if you don't, you probably still have those feelings for him somewhere. _

_If you could just make sure he's happy, no matter what happens, that would mean a lot to me, even if he ends up moving on. _

_You don't have to do this if you don't want to, and I would understand if you don't. I just need to know for sure he's being looked after and has someone looking out for him, especially if he starts dating again._

_-Nina._

Joy read it over a couple times, making sure she understood what Nina was asking her to do. She thought for a few more minutes before replying to her, a smile on her face.

* * *

Eddie found himself also checking his emails, wanting to see if anything was there from his mother or the rest of his family. He wanted to see if Nina or his cousin emailed him to let them know they were still alive. He found it a bit of a relief to know the real reason why Nina had left, but he also feared keeping it a secret, especially from Patricia. He sighed and shook his head as he pulled up his inbox, finding a message from Nina in there. He opened that one first, wondering what it said.

_Eddie,_

_You don't have to worry. Your cousin and I are still alive and are doing just fine. We have a day off today, and Emily went with the others to the local amusement park to apparently ride the rollercoaster. Wasn't sure why exactly they went there, but I think that's the reason. By the way, why didn't you tell me we were the same age?_

_Anyway, you don't need to worry about us. We can take care of ourselves, and we can certainly kick ass. Haven't you been watching news clips online? Nothing majorly bad aside from the attacks has happened yet, but that could change. For now, it doesn't seem like it will. We've managed to so far stop the city from being destroyed, and that's a good thing, right? If things keep going how they are, it's possible I could be back there by Christmas and Emily will be back with her family by then. I mean, we're only a month into it and we've already taken down a few monsters, so…_

_By the way, Fabian's trying to figure out the exact reason why I left, and I told him you would help him figure it out if he asked. I know it might be against rules for him to know, but where I asked him to protect a few things from the Nighlok, it would help if he did know. It would be better for him to figure it out on his own, but you have to help him figure it out if he needs it. And once he does figure it out, I need you to confirm it for him so he knows if he's right or not._

_-Nina_

Eddie rolled his eyes as he read through it. He figured his cousin and Nina were okay and that things were going well. After all, he'd been keeping tabs on the news reports coming in from there. He was a bit shocked to learn that she wanted Fabian to know the reason she left, but wasn't telling him the reason. Her logic made sense, and he figured it couldn't hurt to help. He began sending a reply to her.

* * *

As the day came to an end, all of them had gotten emails from Nina. It had been the topic of conversation throughout the night, all of them sharing what Nina had told them. Fabian, Joy, and Eddie had skirted around some things she mentioned in the emails to them, but no one else seemed to pick up on it. When night fell, things were calm and happy and peaceful, as they had been before the entire Sibuna thing began.

Little did they know that something big was headed their way.

* * *

A/N: Well, what could happen with the Anubis kids next? Sorry for not showing all the emails Nina sent, but that's just what my fingers told me to write. So, what'll happen in the next HOA chapter?


	9. Sticks and Stones

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 9: Sticks and Stones**

_A/N: Well, here's the next Samurai chapter. What'll happen when a Nighlok come and starts speaking the truth? Will something be said that makes everyone curious as to what it could mean? What does this do for Nina when the truth is spoken about her? Not sure how this chapter will go._

_Sorry for not updating this on Thursday, but that was a bit of a hectic day for me._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

Another new day graced the rangers with its presence as the six found themselves outside in the yard, training as they normally did. Emily and Mike were sparring against each other, using the training swords to do so. Mia and Kevin were doing the same thing in the other area of the yard. Jayden, Ji, and Nina stood side by side near the house, watching. From what they could see, the girls were managing to hold their own against the guys, especially when Emily knocked Mike flat on his ass.

"Emily's usually the one falling over," Ji commented to the two beside him.

"But it's different when she has a sword in her hands," Nina pointed out.

"Maybe she could teach Mike a few things," Jayden shrugged. They turned back to the match, seeing Mike standing up and Emily checking up on him.

It was only seconds later when Emily was chasing Mike into the house, training swords still in hand.

* * *

Mike was leaning over a chair in the common room, rubbing his back where it hurt. Emily had knocked him down pretty hard during their training session, but he didn't want to admit it. Kevin, Mia, and Nina were sitting in the room, talking about everything and nothing at all. They saw Emily grab a bag of frozen peas and head over to the green ranger, who looked scared of the vegetables. "Here you go," Emily held the bag out to him, a huge smile on her face.

"Frozen peas?" Mike asked, his eyes widened in a mix of fear and slight disgust.

"It's like an ice pack," the blonde explained. "I was accident prone as a kid, and it always healed me right up. Let me."

"No, thanks," Mike shook his head. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he didn't want a bag of food resting on his back. He got up, trying to move away from Emily.

"You really should," she insisted. She began chasing him once more, causing Mia, Kevin, and Nina to smile and share looks. "Come on! It'll make you feel better!" the chase ended when Emily slipped on the other bag of peas, causing her to land face first on the ground and the bag in her hands to spill everywhere.

Mia and Nina were on their feet and heading over to her in an instant. "Emily, are you okay?" the pink ranger asked. Emily lifted her head, her face covered in peas.

"They're everywhere," she whined a bit. "I'm such a disaster."

"No, you're not," Nina assured her, taking the towel in her hands and helping Emily brush the peas off her face. "You were doing a nice thing."

"I'm so sorry," Mike apologized.

"No, it was all my fault," the yellow ranger stated. "I was being silly. I'm always messing things up. I'm sorry. I'll clean it up." She tried standing up, only to slip on the peas and fall down on her butt. "Not again."

* * *

Nina found herself in Jayden's room, the two of them practicing their symbols together. They knew the others were off doing their own thing after the accident in the common room, and they wanted a bit of peace to get some of their training done. The two knew the symbols they had to practice and knew what they had to do. Nina, not wanting to sit in complete silence, decided to speak up. "Do you think we should tell the others that we're brother and sister?"

"Why?" Jayden looked at her, a frown present on his face. "I thought they already knew just by the way we act."

"According to Mia and Em, they think otherwise," Nina snorted. "They told me that Mike thinks we're dating, because the only ones we really seem to talk to are each other and how I don't have to do some of the things they do, like train with them, and why we both stayed back on the first day off."

"That's ridiculous," Jayden laughed. "But I guess we can tell them the truth. We should talk to Ji about it first."

"Why?" Nina wondered.

Jayden shrugged. "He would know if we should or not. I get that they're our teammates and they should know, but we've never told anyone because we were protecting each other. There may be a certain time where that has to be revealed. After all, we still can't talk about her to the others."

"Yeah, you got a point," Nina sighed. "I just…"

She was interrupted when the Gap Sensor went off.

* * *

Upon arriving in the middle of the city where the Nighlok was spotted, they found it terrorizing people. Jayden made the first move, attacking it when the Nighlok had its back toward them. The Nighlok rolled out of the way and the others ran to stand by Jayden, all of them morphed and ready to fight. "Whoa!" Negatron looked at the six of them. "Samurai rangers? Why are you here? I've been saying all the wrong things right."

"Talking smack about people is not cool," Mike stated. He ran forward, charging the Nighlok.

"I know something about you," Negatron smirked. He caught up to Mike, stopping him in his tracks. "Your bike had training wheels until you were ten!"

"What?" Mike frowned, right before he was shot back into the wall high up behind him. He fell to the ground and Emily ran to check on him.

Mia turned to the Nighlok. "What did you say to him?"

"And you, blue ranger," he ignored her. He went up to Kevin. "You're just boring!" Kevin found himself flying backwards just like Mike had, hitting the roof of the same building. Negatron faced Mia. "Your turn." Mia swung a few times at him. "Lousy cook!" This sent her flying through a different wall.

"I don't get how he's sending everyone flying," Emily frowned, looking to the orange ranger who was getting ready to attack. "All he's doing is saying mean things."

"Keep your guard up," Jayden advised the two standing girls. "This one's tricky."

"Come on," the Nighlok scoffed. "What tricks? I'm just telling the truth. My motto is if the truth hurts, excellent." Before Jayden could even move, the Nighlok was before him. "You're a red faced liar liar pants on fire. You've got a secret." Beneath his helmet, Jayden's eyes widened and he found himself sliding back into the wall behind him.

"Jayden!" Nina cried in shock. Behind the two girls, the Nighlok laughed. Nina growled and faced him, her sword at the ready. "What did you do to him?"

The Nighlok didn't answer as he stepped up to her. "It's not nice to keep secrets either, Chosen One."

Beneath her helmet, Nina's eyes widened in shock and fear. She let out a loud scream as she found herself flying backward and crashing into her brother, who was just trying to get up.

"Looks like we're down to you," the Nighlok looked at Emily.

"Your words won't faze me," Emily swore. "Jayden and Nina have nothing to hide. You're just a mean-mouthed monster spouting nothing but nonsense!" she charged the Nighlok, swinging at him as she lured him away from the others.

As they got back to their feet, the others couldn't help but notice none of the Nighlok's words were affecting Emily. No matter how many negative words Negatron threw at Emily, the yellow ranger wasn't fazed by them. She managed to land a few good hits on the Nighlok. "Why can't he hurt her?" Mike asked, getting nothing in response. After Emily knocked the Nighlok against a wall, Negatron vanished into a gap.

* * *

"That Nighlok is a bully," Ji stated as the rangers sat in the common room. All of them were once again in a circle so they could face each other. Nina sat cross legged on her chair, her elbow resting on her leg as her hand supported her head. She was lost in her mind, a million thoughts running through it that prevented her from focusing on the current conversation. "He likes to hurt people's feelings. He channels mental pain and turns it into physical pain."

"He caught me off guard," Mia spoke. "It won't work again."

"Listen, I may have had training wheels," Mike added. "But I didn't need 'em."

"And I'm a good cook, right?" Mia asked, to which those who were paying attention quickly agreed before they could say otherwise.

"Am I boring to you guys?" Kevin wondered.

Jayden answered. "You're extremely disciplined and orderly, Kevin. It's a great quality for a samurai."

"Yeah, you're right," Kevin smiled. "It is."

"Emily was the only one who wasn't affected," Mike pointed out. "That Nighlok knew exactly how to hurt us, but why couldn't he hurt her?"

"Perhaps Emily has some special power," Ji shrugged.

Emily shook her head. "It's nothing great like that. I was teased and called names as a kid. It made me sad. But my sister told me to just pretend like the person teasing me didn't say anything at all, and it really worked. So when the Nighlok said those things to me, it was like he didn't even say them."

"Then why are you always putting yourself down?" Mike questioned. "It makes no sense, unless that's what you really think about yourself."

"Well, no, but…"

"Mike," Kevin glared at the green ranger.

"I'm sorry," Emily muttered before getting up and leaving the room.

Mia glowered at the green ranger. "Mike, the Nighlok can't hurt her feelings, but you can." Mike hung his head in shame, realizing what he had just did.

"There's one thing I don't get," Kevin spoke up, turning everyone but Nina's attention to him. "When the Nighlok spoke to Nina, he mentioned something about her being the Chosen One. What does that mean?" They all turned to Nina, only to find her spacing out and not paying attention.

"That is something I don't know about," Ji frowned, curious as well.

Noticing Nina wasn't responding, Jayden reached out and poked her in the shoulder, only for her to fall off her chair and snap back into reality. She sat up on the floor and looked around, seeing confused looks from her teammates.

* * *

_Do they know about everything? _Nina asked herself in her mind, still thinking about the earlier attack and what the Nighlok had said. _Clearly he knows I'm the Chosen One, but to what extent? Do they know about the cup, the mask, the elixir? What about Sibuna? Or do they just know I'm known as the Chosen One? _The thoughts repeatedly ran through her head as she tried to figure them out. As she sat at the table in the kitchen, Jayden entered. Mike had gone to find Emily, and Mia and Kevin had gone off to do something else. Jayden wanted to talk to his sister, so he found her in here.

"Nina, is everything all right?" he asked, sitting across from.

"Define all right," she looked up at him, breaking from her thoughts. "And then I'll tell you if it is or not."

"The Nighlok know we have a secret," Jayden sighed. "I take it that's something that's not all right."

"Yes, but all they could know is that we have one," Nina pointed out. "They more than likely don't know what the secret is."

Jayden nodded. "True. What about what he said to you about keeping secrets and calling you the Chosen One?"

"Well," Nina bit her lip, clutching her locket without realizing it. This did not go unnoticed by Jayden, who had been wondering what the deal was with it. "The secrets part was probably about me keeping secrets from my friends at school and…maybe about some things I've been keeping from everyone here."

"Like what?" Jayden frowned.

"Like a few things that happened at the boarding school that may or may not effect this depending on how much the Nighlok know about it," Nina rushed out, but the red ranger caught every word. "If the Nighlok know more than the fact that I'm the Chosen One, then we've got a huge problem on our hands. If they only know that I'm the Chosen One, then we should be good for now. However, I can't talk about what happened at the school until necessary because it dealt with a club I was in there, and the first rule in it is not to speak about what we do in it."

"Why do I get the feeling that this club did things you shouldn't have been doing?" Jayden narrowed his eyes.

Nina rolled hers. "We didn't do anything you're probably thinking we did. But if you mean doing things we shouldn't have done as in doing things behind people's backs to save people, then yes."

"Now I'm confused," Jayden shook his head.

"It's going to be confusing until I explain it all when the time is right," Nina chuckled. "Right now, I'm living in two worlds with two different families. I hope that once this is all over, I'll be living in two worlds with only one family, which would include you all and my friends from school."

"You're right," Jayden smiled. "That is very confusing."

* * *

Another day another Nighlok gone. The rangers had defeated Negatron for good, using Emily's idea to help them. Everything the Nighlok had said was forgotten after the fight was over. Now, the rangers were walking through the park, Emily asleep on Mike's back as he carried her. They all thought the fight must've taken quite a bit out of her, since she had been the one to stand against the Nighlok the most.

"Emily said she was fine," Mia commented. "But I guess the Nighlok's words hurt her after all."

"She hid it well," Jayden agreed. "Everyone has something they don't want to hear."

"She was incredible," Mike added. "The way she fought off that Nighlok rocked. Girl's got guts."

"Her sister would be proud," Nina nodded. None of them noticed the small smile that crept up on Emily's face. They all stopped in their tracks when they heard a joyful tune, one that none of them would forget no matter how old they got. "That's a sound I can never forget!"

"Ice cream trucks are my favorite," Mia grinned.

"Sounds better than the Gap Sensor," Mike huffed.

Emily bounced awake, a huge smile on her face. "Did someone say ice cream?"

"You're awake?" Mike asked, looking up at her since she was still on his back.

"We got to catch up with that truck," Kevin realized as it started passing by. "Come on, guys."

The six rangers began running toward it, Emily still being carried by Mike.

* * *

A/N: I'm not always going to include the fight scenes where they take down the Nighlok for good, but I will for the episodes where it's most important or something major happens.


	10. House of Discovery

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 10: House of Discovery**

_A/N: Here's another new HOA chapter. What'll happen with it? Not sure. On all the HOA chapters I'm just going to let my fingers move over the keyboard and see what happens with whatever idea for it pops into my head. Things are going to get slightly more complicated as Fabian begins to figure out why exactly Nina left all of a sudden. He will have it figured out by chapter 20, (four HOA based chapters). _

_What'll happen now? And as I said before, these HOA chapters are going to be short for a while. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

A petite blond haired girl with blue eyes found herself traveling once more. She sighed and shook her head, wondering why she had to go to England this time instead of somewhere else. She was used to traveling constantly ever since she left her home as a little seven year old, leaving her brother and sister behind. Though she had not seen then since she was seven, she had gotten letters and emails from them. She had talked with them over the phone a few times, but that was about it. It was one thing to keep in touch, and another thing to actually see someone.

_Nina, why did you have to be the one who fell into a confusing life? _she sighed. The blonde reread the last letter she had received from her sister. She always saved every letter she got from her siblings. There was a giant folder that traveled with her that held every letter she got from them. Some were confusing, some were interesting, and some were like any normal letter, the simple "how are you doing" and whatnot.

Nina's last letter to her confused her more than any other letter she got. What was the Cup of Ankh? The Mask of Anubis? The Eye of Horus locket? An Elixir of Life? The Osirion? The Chosen One? She got the feeling all of these things fit together somehow, but she couldn't quite figure it out. She determined that while the samurai life was confusing, whatever her sister was talking about was more confusing. It was clear that some of the things mentioned were people, but who? The others she assumed to be objects, but what?

_I hope you know what you're talking about, Neens, _she rolled her eyes. Her sister mentioned a bunch of people in her letter and where to find them and what she should do if she was ever in England, but she had to admit she was a bit scared to. According to Nina, none of her friends knew she exited. They didn't know Nina had a sister or brother, or the real reason why their parents died. Thankfully Nina had sent her the cover story that she told the others at Anubis house.

Once more, the blonde sighed as the plane landed. Still another four hours to go by train to get to where she would be going.

* * *

Fabian Rutter was on a mission to figure out where his girlfriend was and what she was doing. Nina had told him all the clues she could, and it was still confusing to him. School went on how it usually did, and everyone did what they normally did. It was as if things were back to the way they were before Nina left, but Nina just wasn't in the picture this time around. The science geek wasn't telling anyone about what he was doing because Nina had asked him not to, but they were probably curious as to why he was spending a bit more time alone than he usually did.

When he was asked to do things or join in on something outside of school, he usually declined, not exactly giving the best reason to do so. While he was back to being his normal self, his housemates couldn't help but wonder if something else was going on. He had been spending more time by himself than he usually did, and even the members of Sibuna had no idea what was going on with him. When they asked, he replied that it was nothing to do with Sibuna, even if it felt like it.

Some things Nina had told him stuck in his mind, and he had a list of odd things she had said.

The first thing was the deal with Power Rangers. He had a feeling this had something to do with them.

The second thing was that her parents hadn't died in a car crash. It wasn't as strange as the other things, but he felt this was important.

The third thing was that Eddie knew what exactly Nina was talking about. If he needed it, he would ask his roommate for help.

The fourth thing was Nina saying this is something she was born into, even though it had nothing to do with her birthday.

The fifth thing was that she had broken up with him to protect him. He was determined to find out what exactly she was protecting him from.

The sixth thing was the promise. He had promised her he would make sure the Cup of Ankh and Elixir of Life and Mask of Anubis were protected. It was a bit weird, considering he had no idea what to protect it from.

The last thing he found odd was that Nina had left only hours after an arrow with a strange symbol had been shot at the house. He had only seen that symbol twice: once on the arrow, and the second time on the news report that showed the world's newest team of Power Rangers. He was certain the symbol held all the answers.

However, every time he tried researching the symbol, hardly anything came up for what it meant. The only thing that proved to be of any useful information was when he found information on the samurai power rangers. They may have only been around for about a month, but there appeared to be a lot of information on them already. He wrote down a few notes about what he learned and proceeded to do research on the rangers.

From what he could figure out about that, he realized that this wasn't the first time this has happened. The legends stated that Power Rangers first appeared in the city known as Angle Grove in California, and it took the first team years to defeat their enemy, even if it was a different one at points. He also read how each team after that consisted of different people, since all the teams had different fighting styles and the fact that it wasn't just Angel Grove that had teams. To Fabian, none of this seemed real, even with live footage of battles and whatnot.

It wasn't until he came across a website that he found with a rather odd homepage. He had no idea how he stumbled across it, but something about it made him curious.

**Once a Ranger**

**Always a Ranger**

That was what Fabian saw on his laptop screen in the shape of a giant circle. In the center of the circle was a box with information that could be useful to him. Near the bottom of the page was a few buttons, one for logging into something, another for photos, and a third for the legacy of the power. This whole page caught Fabian's attention, and before he could lose it, he saved it under his favorites tab. He then proceeded to read the information in the box.

_This website is purely for those who have held the power. To anyone who has not held the power, this website should be of little to no interest to you. There are photos of teams and battles for you to look at, as well as a history of the power that contains information we are allowed to reveal. As those who have held the power, we live by the three sacred rules: never escalate a battle, never use our powers for personal gain, and never reveal our true identities for the sake of losing the power. While there have been teams that are public identity, most teams are not._

_To those who have held the power, feel free to log in with the information that has been sent to you. Those of us who have created this site know who every ranger is and are constantly updating information on here. Each ranger has their own login information that we create for them, and it's so other rangers who appear on this site will be able to identify you. Please only click the login button if you have the proper information and if you have held the power at some point. Thank you._

Fabian became confused as he read this. This appeared to be a website for certain people to be on and communicate freely and safely without anyone who didn't belong knowing. He could look at the pictures and read the legacy, which he planned on doing at some point, but not at the moment. Right now, he was trying to let this newfound information sink in.

As it did, one thought that could be a conclusion for what Nina wanted him to find.

Was his girlfriend a power ranger?

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I know there's a lack of dialogue, but it might be that way for a while until I have Fabian figure out what's going on with Nina. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Up next is another ranger based chapter.


	11. There Go the Brides

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 11: There Go the Brides**

_A/N: Skipping to this chapter since "A Fish Out of Water" is kinda dull. I also don't plan on doing "Forest for the Trees," so don't expect that chapter. Anyway, now that Nina knows the Nighlok knows she's the Chosen One, what will that mean? Could it mean nothing as of yet, or could it mean they know about the cup and elixir? What'll happen when a new enemy enters the picture?_

_Also, for this and the next chapter, Mia isn't posing as the original fake bride, and Kevin isn't going to be turned evil._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

The six samurai rangers were all dressed up, participating in a plan they had come up with to lure the Nighlok out. The most recent Nighlok was kidnapping brides, and they had yet to find out who. Their idea was to put on a fake wedding, with Jayden acting as the groom and Nina acting as the bride. Of course, Nina had not wanted to do so since it would be awkward, considering her brother was playing the fake groom, but Ji had insisted that it would be easier for them to make it more realistic if the two who worked best together posed as a marrying couple.

"This is extremely awkward," Nina whispered as the fake priest began.

"I know it is," Jayden sighed. "But we have to do this."

"Once this Nighlok is taken down, we never mention this again," Nina hissed quietly.

In the pews, Ji sat on one side with the other four rangers on the other. Mike and Emily sat in the front in their best wedding attire, Mia and Kevin doing the same in the row behind them. "Dudes," Mike whispered. "Check out Mentor with the waterworks." He noticed Kevin was crying as well.

"It's just allergies," the blue ranger defended. "The flowers."

"Wow," Emily breathed. "Nina looks so beautiful."

"Someone get me out of here," Mike muttered. Mia, having heard the comment, smacked him upside the head. The priest continued on, trying to stall it as long as possible to see if the plan would work.

It wasn't until he got to the "speak now or forever hold your peace" part that Ji got a call. "They took the bride?" he stood up. They all turned to him. "Okay. The Nighloks didn't take the bait," he informed the team.

"I thought our fake wedding would have worked for sure," Mia huffed.

"Not this time," Ji shook his head. "The moogers stormed the church downtown and kidnapped another bride.

* * *

After getting back to the Shiba house, everyone had changed back into normal clothes. Nina was glad to be out of the wedding dress and out of the awkward situation she was put into earlier. The dirty blonde had no doubt she would have nightmares about it for weeks to come. Once everyone was settled, they gathered in the common room, sitting in the chairs in a circle once more. Ji stood at one end. "That makes it five brides kidnapped," he spoke as they pulled it up on the map.

"Hey, look," Mike got their attention. "It's in a pattern. In the shape of a star."

"You're right," Kevin observed. "Have you studied maps in crime patterns before?"

"Sorta," the green ranger shrugged. "I watch a lot of cop shows."

"Too much was left up to chance," Jayden stated. "We have to make sure we lure them in before any more brides are taken."

"I can't even begin to imagine what those poor girls are going through," Mia commented. "I mean, this is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives."

Emily had a thought. "Do you think they would have taken those brides to the Sanzu River?"

"No," Ji denied. "The living can't survive there for long. The moogers must have used the gap to take them somewhere else."

"Wherever they are," Nina sighed. "If our sting operation had worked, I could have helped those poor brides."

"We have to try again," Jayden suggested.

"But how do we get them to come to our wedding?" Kevin wondered.

Ji held up a stack of papers. "Here's a list of the weddings scheduled for our area."

"There's so many weddings," Emily noted. "That's the problem."

"I have an idea," Jayden sat up.

* * *

The next day, the samurai rangers were ready to proceed with their plan. The previous night, Jayden had managed to convince all but one couple to put their wedding on hold because of the Nighlok attacks. They knew which wedding was going to be attacked, but they had to act fast to get it done. Their back up plan was also all set to go, and they were hoping it would work this time.

After mimicking the real bride's dress with a bit of symbol power, Nina, Mia, Kevin, Mike, and Emily helped hide the bride and groom away, explaining practically nothing, but ensuring their safety. Now, Nina found herself walking down the aisle outside, her arm looped with her brother's as they posed as the marrying couple once more. "Why do I get the feeling _you _are going to owe me big time after this?" she whispered, noting how none of the people in the crowd seemed to be phased by people they didn't recognize taking the spot of the real couple.

"Because of creepy dreams that could possibly occur?" he answered. "If this all works out, then you won't have to do this again."

"Yet if it fails," Nina sighed. "I'm asking Mia to take over as bride bait. I just hope the moogers show up soon." Then she thought about that statement. "Wow. That's something I'd never thought I'd say."

"They will," Jayden chuckled softly as they neared the end. "And we'll get them." The two looked completely serious as they walked, stopping before the minister.

"Friends," she began. "We've been invited here today to share a very important moment in the lives of these two young people. Their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they've decided to live their lives together as husband and wife."

Noises caught their attention and everyone turned to see moogers crashing the wedding. All the guests scream, and Jayden and Nina did their part to act like the terrified, clueless couple. Nina gave her brother a nod before she was kidnapped and Jayden was held back.

* * *

After being kidnapped, Nina was brought to where the other brides were being held. The moogers dropped her to the floor of the dusty old room before the head of the operation. The orange ranger was almost afraid to look up, but she knew she had to. As she began to look up, she spotted the Nighlok in charge. "Nicely done, moogers," the Nighlok spoke. Nina sat on her knees and hid her face. "Welcome."

_Dayu, _Nina muttered in her mind. _She's part of Xandred's crew. I remember reading about her in the archives._

"Now," Dayu began, moving toward Nina. "What's the best way to welcome you…Orange samurai ranger? Or should I say…Chosen One?" The veil Nina wore was thrown off and she quickly reached for her morpher. Dayu pulled her arm behind her back, snatching the samurizer out of her hands. "Well, now, what little bobble have you brought me? You thought you'd trick me, didn't you? Oh, you think we haven't been watching you and your pathetic pals? Now I've got you and the real bride as well."

Moogers dragged the real bride in and threw her into the trap that held the other brides.

"No!" Nina gasped. "But we hid her!" A mooger took Dayu's hold on her so Dayu could face Nina.

"Now you're going to call your friends," she stated. "Just like you planned. Tell them you found the brides, then tell them to go to warehouse thirty two near the docks." The samurizer was open and pressed to her ear.

"Forget it," she spat. "I won't help you send my friends into a trap!"

"Oh, I think you will," Dayu corrected. "Because if you don't, then I'll really give those brides something to cry about." Nina caved and knew it was time to put on a good act.

The samurizer dialed Jayden's and he picked up a moment later. _"Are you all right?"_

"Yes," she replied. "I'm with the brides. We're in Shoretown near the docks, warehouse thirty two. And Jayden, please hurry."

"_Okay," _Jayden confirmed. _"We're on our way."_ Dayu moved the device away and closed it.

She smiled. "Very good.

* * *

A short while later, after having sat in silence and wondering what was going on, Dayu smirked. "Kaboom," she continued. Nina was still being held back by the mooger who had a rather tight grip on her arm. "You samurai rangers are no match for me. Ah. I haven't felt this good in a long time. Look at this gown," she motioned to the one behind her. "All the dashed hopes and dreams it symbolizes. Oh, how good it feels to throw a bridal shower, a bridal shower of tears that will raise the Sanzu River and flood your pathetic world. This is the end for you."

Dayu lifted Nina up by her arm so the dirty blonde was in a standing position. She threw Nina to the ground and the girl hit it. "Go on, moogers," Dayu ordered. "Get rid of her." Before they could move, a flying red object came in and knocked all of them back, Nina's samurizer in hands. It dropped the samurizer so Nina caught it before flying back to where Jayden now stood with Mike, Emily, and Kevin. "What? How in the world…How did you escape the warehouse?"

"I think it's your turn to cry," Nina stood straight, glaring straight at Dayu. "I'm not the only samurai ranger that's been kidnapped today." The trap behind her burst into pieces, revealing Mia with her spin sword out and in the dress Nina wore the day before.

"No!" Dayu gasped.

"Two samurai ranger brides are twice as nice," the pink ranger commented. "Don't you think?"

"How could this be?" Dayu frowned.

"Pretty easily, actually," Emily explained. "When Nina traded places with that real bride to protect her, we made sure she had double-bride protection. So when you came back to kidnap the real bride, guess who you ended up kidnapping instead."

Dayu was getting mad. "But the warehouse. Who went there?"

"Our doubles," Jayden answered. All of the brides that weren't rangers ran out, anxious to get out of there. Nina and Mia went to stand with their teammates.

"Looks like your dress making days are over," Nina declared.

"Oh yeah?" Dayu huffed. "We'll see about that!" she fired something at them. Jayden cast a symbol that caused them all to vanish before it hit them.

* * *

Outside, all the rangers remained morphed and hidden, waiting for Dayu to make her appearance. They didn't wait long as the Nighlok quickly made her way outside with her horde of moogers following her. They knew it was time to get this fight going. "Show yourselves!"

Jayden made his appearance first by stepping out from behind a few trees. "Samurai ranger, ready."

"Samurai ranger," Kevin jumped out from behind a tree. "Ready."

"Samurai ranger," Mia stood in the next tree over. "Ready."

"Samurai ranger," Nina stood on the porch of the building behind Dayu. "Ready."

Mike faked a yawn before getting up from his sitting position on the steps. "Samurai ranger, ready."

"Samurai ranger," Emily appeared in the last open spot of the circle they had formed. "Ready."

"Dearly beloved," Mia jumped down from the tree. All of them walked closer to Dayu, making the circle tighter. "We're gathered here for one thing."

"Rangers together," they chorused, getting ready to fight. "Samurai forever."

Dayu stretched out her arms. "I have but one thing to say. Moogers, attack!"

"Bad choice," Jayden huffed as the rangers charged the oncoming moogers.

All six of them began fighting off the moogers as the moogers split them up. The only weapons they were using at the moment was their spin swords, and it wasn't long before the fight was dragged to the nearby quarry. Dayu was nowhere in sight, and that greatly worried the team. If she wasn't there, it could spell big trouble for them, and that was something they didn't need. As they wondered about it, they saw Mia and Kevin had finished off their group of moogers and were now attacking Dayu, who had reappeared before them.

Jayden was first to notice this and defended the two rangers from an attack. The red ranger and the Nighlok engaged in a fight as the others went to join Mia and Kevin. Jayden was holding his own pretty well until Mike, Emily, and Nina jumped in and blocked what was being fired. Kevin and Mia then stepped up and combined two of their attacks to hit Dayu. Jayden brought out his fire smasher and put it in cannon blast mode. They all lent him their power discs, and he fired the cannon.

However, before it could hit Dayu, an unfamiliar Nighlok appeared in front of her and defended her. The rangers all stood confused and watched as the smoke cleared. "Red ranger," the new Nighlok spoke. "You shall be my sword Urumasa's greatest challenge."

"What does that mean?" Mia frowned.

"Dekker," Dayu looked at the Nighlok before her. "You came to save me?"

"Not quite," he replied. "Red ranger, we sill duel soon. Until then…" he grabbed Dayu's hand and ran off, the two suddenly appearing at the top of the cliff.

"You're running away?" Kevin called.

"Cowards!" Mia added. The new Nighlok said something and half a dozen giant moogers appeared.

* * *

After the long fight, the rangers found they had time to relax. Ji had let them go out into town and hang out for a while. They were all heading down to the local bakery to get some cupcakes, Emily's idea. As usual, they had taken down the Nighlok of the day by using the megazord, and they used the swordfish sword Kevin had caught the previous week. It proved to be very helpful in their situation. Now, things were back to normal and they could all relax until the next Nighlok attack. Kevin, Mia, Mike, and Emily were walking a bit ahead of Nina and Jayden.

"What's on your mind?" the red ranger asked her. "And don't say nothing because I can tell something is."

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," Nina sighed. "Yet."

"Yet?" Jayden raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Nina shook her head. "Right now, it's something that only I should worry about. Now come on. Let's head into the bakery before the others come out and drag us in."

"As long as it's not wedding cake," Jayden shrugged. Nina elbowed him in the gut.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't talk about this once it was over?"

* * *

A/N: Ending it here. Up next is another HOA chapter. What'll happen with that?


	12. House of Breakthrough

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 12: House of Breakthrough**

_A/N: So here's the next HOA chapter. Fabian's found a major clue to what Nina wants him to find out, but he's still far from finding out the truth. Someone is planning to visit Anubis house, but who? Will the others believe who this visitor claims to be, since they never heard a thing about her before? Will this visit cause Sibuna to reform? _

_Sorry if this chapter is short._

_I just wanna say that I find the _**_character_**_of Willow a bit creepy. I like the actress, but the character Willow just creeps me out._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Fabian had spent most of the afternoon doing more research on his idea that he had come up with over the past couple weeks. The idea of Nina being a Power Ranger seemed absurd, yet the more he learned about Power Rangers, the more it seemed to be the truth. The only thing that he was unsure of was that these rangers knew how to fight. No one in Anubis house had ever seen Nina practicing any form of martial arts or knew that she did if she did, so it seemed unrealistic for her to be a ranger.

However, Fabian had the feeling that she did know how to fight. It was possible that she didn't tell anyone because it was something none of them needed to know or something she wouldn't want them to know. If it was true, then she probably snuck around more than they thought to practice. Aside from that, everything else seemed to make sense to him. Everything he dug up about Power Rangers seemed to make sense, yet it always seemed like there was something he was missing.

At the moment, Fabian found himself back on the webpage he had found a couple weeks ago. He was currently reading the information under the tab labeled "Legacy of Power." It had started off with an introduction that explained how the power came to be in the first place and what the powers were exactly. Following that was a history of each team, leaving out names and such unless the team was known to the public.

After reading the first section about the first team of rangers (the longest section in the entire page), Fabian had found some of the things to be quite absurd, like the names of their villains. Something was telling him that what he was reading was completely true, yet he was missing something. He read about how some rangers have held multiple powers, the one who held the most with four different ranger powers being the very first green ranger. Names were not mentioned, but abbreviations of the team's name and colors of the ranger were used to identify them in the passages.

The science geek couldn't believe how many teams there had been and how long they had been around. Apparently, the last team that had been heard of was a team in another dimension by the name of RPM. Fabian wasn't one to believe other dimensions existed, even if it was fun to think about from time to time. Yet after reading that section and the rest of the legacy before it, he couldn't help but change that belief. According to this legacy, there was probably an infinite amount of dimensions and many planets he had never heard of.

Then he got to the spot about the most recent team, the Samurai Rangers. Not much was known about them yet, but there was enough information for Fabian to see a few things clearly. The article told him that there were currently six members, and they each had control over a different element and used symbol power, which was something he didn't get. It explained the legend of their enemy known as the Nighlok, and it seemed unbelievable. There was a bit of information on how unlike the other teams, the samurai rangers were born into this, their powers being passed down from generation to generation, parent to child.

Nina's words flew into Fabian's mind.

"_Like being the Chosen One, this is something I was born into. I can't ignore the duties I have, like I couldn't ignore my job as the Chosen One, if that makes sense."_

It was starting to make sense to Fabian. If he could prove his idea right, it would all start to make sense.

* * *

Lauren Shiba had no idea what to expect when the cab had dropped her off in front of Anubis House at her sister's school. She looked down at the paper in her hands, making sure she had the right place. Either she was lost, or her sister hadn't done a very good job at describing the eeriness the place held. Lauren thought just looking at this place could give her nightmares. She had to admit she was nervous about seeing what was inside and meeting her sister's friends, but as long as her sister was here, she should have no problem.

Letter in hands and her backpack slung over her shoulder, she took a deep breath and headed up to the front door. After reaching it, she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer it. A moment later, she heard footsteps moving around. A second after that, the door opened to reveal a kind of short woman, not that much taller than Lauren, with dark curly hair. "Hello. Can I help you?" she asked. From what Nina had told her in her letters, this had to be Trudy.

"I'm looking for my sister," Lauren replied. "Nina Martin. She told me that this is where she lives and goes to school."

"Please, come in," Trudy moved out of the way. Lauren walked inside and got a good look at the foyer. "I'm afraid that Nina doesn't live here anymore, but you're welcome to stay for supper."

"She doesn't live here?" Lauren frowned. "She told me in her letter that she did."

"She had to go back home to America for some reason," Trudy shrugged. "Left about a little over a month ago. By the way, what is your name?"

"Lauren, Lauren Shiba," Lauren introduced herself. "But Nina left over a month ago? But I just got her letter two weeks ago."

"Mail does seem to travel slow," Trudy mused. "But come on in. Supper's just about ready." Trudy began walking toward the kitchen, Lauren following her. "Nina never mentioned she had a sister."

"Who has a sister?" Amber asked as she, Joy, Mara, and Patricia entered the room to sit at the table, where Fabian and Eddie were already seated.

"Apparently Nina does," Trudy answered. Jerome and Alfie entered at this point. "This is her sister, Lauren."

"Nina never mentioned having a sister," Mara frowned.

Lauren decided she better answer. "That's probably because she hardly remembers me. She was about two or three the last time we saw each other." She got the feeling that this was going to be very awkward.

"But then why are you here?" Patricia wondered. "Nina's not here anymore."

"We've kept in touch for a while, and the last I heard from her was a letter saying she still lived here," Lauren stated. "I thought I would stop and visit her."

"Please, sit down," Trudy urged her. "Join us for supper."

"I really can't," Lauren lied. She just didn't want to make this more awkward. "I have an early flight to catch to Japan and I still have to finish up a few things here. Thank you for the offer, though."

"Well, at least take some of this to go," Trudy offered. "Wait right here and I'll bag some up for you." Lauren smiled at the older woman. Trudy headed into the kitchen and quickly put together a bag of food for her to take with her. With one last thank you and a goodbye to everyone, she left the building.

Before she had left, Fabian managed to catch sight of a symbol he had seen twice before. It was the same symbol that had been seen on the Samurai Power Rangers' uniforms and on the arrow that had been shot at the house a month ago.

His thoughts were interrupted when he got a text from Amber calling for a Sibuna meeting after dinner.

* * *

After dinner, the five members of Sibuna found themselves in what was now just Joy and Patricia's room. It was safer to have the meeting in here since Amber shared with Mara once more. Fabian, Alfie, Joy, Patricia, and Amber were all sitting around the room, waiting for the blonde to start it up. There hadn't been a Sibuna meeting since before they found the Mask of Anubis, but now they had no idea why Amber had called this one.

"Amber, care to explain why we're here?" Patricia asked.

"Nina's sister," Amber stated. "Why didn't she tell us she had a sister?"

"Maybe it was because they hardly knew each other?" Joy suggested. "It makes the most sense."

"Yeah, but she didn't tell me, her best friend!" Amber ranted. "I bet she didn't even tell Fabian."

Fabian felt the spotlight on him. "Well…she did…but not until the day after she left. She told me it in the letter she wrote just to me."

"What?" they all looked at him.

"And you didn't say anything?" Alfie pressed the matter on.

"It didn't seem like something she wanted me to tell anyone," Fabian defended himself. "She also told me that in the video chat call we had a month ago. She said that she hadn't since her sister since she was three but they did keep in touch, and that none of what she's going through has anything to do with Sibuna."

"Are you sure?" Patricia raised an eyebrow. "I mean, how do you keep a sister secret?"

Fabian frowned. "Funny. You said the same thing when we found out Jerome had a sister, yet no one commented about it when we found out you had a twin."

"Point taken," Patricia huffed. "But still…she could've told us."

Fabian didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation as his thoughts drew him back to that symbol. He was positive it had something to do with Nina suddenly leaving, and seeing her sister with the symbol on her bag helped him confirm it.

* * *

A/N: Don't know where else to end this. Up next, one of the rangers gets turned evil.


	13. I've Got a Spell on Orange

**House of Rangers **

**Chapter 13: I've Got a Spell on Orange**

_A/N: Here's the next rangers' chapter. I'm making it Nina who gets turned evil instead of Kevin in this chapter because I want to. Anyway, what'll happen with that? I'm debating when exactly to put in when the rangers will meet with the Anubis kids. I can either do it when I planned to (between Jayden's Challenge and Unexpected Arrival) or later on in the season where I can fit it. So what'll happen this time around?_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

About a week after the missing brides incident, the red and orange rangers found themselves getting ready to fight. They were training while in morph, swords at the ready. Mia, Emily, Kevin, Mike, and Ji all sat back to watch, staying close enough to observe it well, yet far enough to avoid being hit by any stray attacks. Nina and Jayden stood across from each other on the training mat, swords held firmly in the same position.

With a quick turn of the swords and moving to step back, the two began the match. Nina was matching Jayden's skills, the red ranger actually having a challenge. They continued to block blows the other tried to deliver, neither getting a single hit on their opponent yet. "She's got mad skills," Mike was the first to comment. "I'm impressed."

"They're two of the best that's ever been," Ji nodded.

"She's right up there with Jayden," Kevin added.

"She's so graceful with a sword," Emily continued watching.

Ji looked to the fight. "I've been told she's always had that quality, even as a child."

"Nina's technique is better," Mia observed.

"They are both excellent swordsmen," Ji stated. "Practice sparring is one thing, but true skill shown in battle is what really counts."

"I'd hate to see what would happen if they really had to battle each other," Mike mused.

"That would never happen," Mia shook her head. "Nothing can make Nina fight against a fellow ranger." To their surprise, Nina managed to take Jayden down.

The orange ranger looked down at her brother through her helmet. "Good match. Two out of three?"

Jayden nodded as he got up and got ready. "You're on."

* * *

Not long after the morning training session, the rangers found themselves morphed and heading for the forest. The Gap sensor had gone off alerting them to a Nighlok attack in the woods, and that was where they were headed. They were running toward the fight, hoping to run into the Nighlok soon. It didn't take long as they spotted the Nighlok quickly. "Hold it right there, Nighlok!" Jayden grabbed it's attention as they stood in formation. "We're going to whip you into shape."

"Do you really want to tangle with me?" the Nighlok asked. "I'm Metamot, the baddest of the bad from the Sanzu. I'm a bad, bad man!"

"Let's see if you can back up all that talk," Mike challenged.

"Hmm," Metamot mused. "Having backup is a good idea." He snapped his whip on the ground before him. "Here, kitty-kitty!" the ground shook a bit and the rangers' attention was stolen away by the incoming zord.

"The tiger zord," Jayden gasped. They turned back to the Nighlok.

"Surprised?" he smirked. "When the Earth cracked open and you sealed Master Xandred in the Netherworld, your tiger zord fell in the crevice too. I saved it and made him my pet kitty. Or should I say, pet tiggy?"

Mike stepped forward. "Your pet? No way!"

"Jayden, we've got to get it back," Nina looked to her brother, sending him a look through the visors of their helmets.

"My spell on him is too powerful," Metamot stated. "He's mine." His face began to glow purple, and the rangers took that as a bad sign.

"Everyone duck!" Jayden warned. He pulled Mia and Emily down, being the closest to them.

"Mike!" Nina called. "Get down!" She moved to get him to duck, being the one closest to him at the moment. However, her timing was off as she pushed him out of the way, getting hit with the blast herself. She struggled for a moment before falling to her knees and clutching her head in slight pain.

"Nina!" Mike ran over to her, checking to see if she was okay. However, she growled and grabbed his arms, tossing him aside as she got back to her feet. Mia ran over to him. "What was that all about?"

Emily tried to get her attention. "Nina?"

"She's in a trance," Jayden realized, tensing up a bit. Nina stood straight, facing forward.

"I've tamed a new pet," Metamot grinned. "I call her Orange. Now sick 'em!"

As if she had no idea or control over what she was doing, Nina drew her sword and charged Mia and Mike, deciding to attack them first. Nina didn't appear to respond to anything they were saying, almost as if she couldn't hear them. When she knocked the two down, she moved to charge Kevin, Emily, and Jayden. Jayden jumped over his sister and ran forward to take on Metamot, leaving the other two to take on Nina. With one attack from her spin sword, Nina hit the other four rangers, causing them to lose their morph.

Jayden spotted this and knocked Metamot back before standing in front of his friends. With a swipe of his spin sword in a special mode, he and the four unmorphed rangers vanished.

Nina was left behind.

* * *

"This isn't good," Ji spoke as he followed the rangers into the house. They were all hurting, most of them physically hurting. Mia, Emily, Kevin, and Mike all moved and took seats in the common room as Ji continued speaking. "It's going to be very hard to break that monster's spell on the tiger zord and Nina."

"We need a plan," Jayden stated, looking to their mentor. He walked into the opposite room across the hall.

"Jayden," Ji followed him. The other four were paying attention. "You must be prepared to make tough choices if need be." He knew this had to be hard on Jayden, considering it was his sister that was now being controlled by evil.

"I know, Ji," he sighed. "But let's figure out a way to break the Nighlok's hold on Nina before it gets to that."

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

When the Gap Sensor had gone off again, Jayden had already gone off to find the Nighlok and his sister. Jayden found himself in the construction site, Metamot and a morphed Nina already there. "It's about time, red ranger." Jayden ignored him as he looked at his sister, who seemed to have no idea what was going on.

"Nina, please wake up," he muttered.

"Not going to happen, Red," Metamot huffed. "Make this fight count, or I'll make Orange turn her sword on herself." The other rangers appeared behind Jayden as they ran in.

"Jayden!" Mike called. "We're here to help!"

"No," Jayden denied. "I can't put anyone else at risk." He turned back to Metamot. "You want a show? I'll give you the show of your life, Nighlok." Despite his teammates' protests, he drew his samurizer. Metamot jumped out of the way, ensuring he wouldn't be injured.

He looked to the rangers below. "Orange, attack!" Nina drew her sword and held it at the ready.

"Samurizer," Jayden opened his morpher. "Go Go Samurai!"

He morphed, Kevin, Mike, Mia, and Emily watching. Jayden also drew his sword, and the two morphed rangers slowly began circling each other. Once in position, the two charged at each other. Their swords clashed, the other four watching as Jayden fought off Nina, trying not to injure her unless necessary.

"What are you thinking?" Mike shouted. "That's Nina!" Nina and Jayden both ignored him as they ran around the area, farther away from the others and still clashing swords. Nina knocked Jayden back, drawing the fight further away.

"Wake up, Neens!" Emily yelled.

"You're fighting Jayden!" Mia added. "You can't do this!" Nina and Jayden continued clashing swords, neither one willing to give up the fight. Every time one would knock the other down, the tables would be reversed. Nina managed to strike Jayden with a powered up spin sword.

"Man," Kevin sighed. "This is so not cool."

"Stop!" Mike tried once more.

"Shut your pie hole!" Metamot growled. He fired at the four of them, causing them to fall back. "No talking during the show!"

As the four rangers got to their feet, a strange man wearing a black outfit covered by a white shaggy coat, carrying something in his hands, and had brown shoulder length hair appeared, stepping in front of them. "Looks like we have a winner."

"Who are you?" Kevin asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am," the man stated. "What matters is who's winning. It's not the girl in orange."

"What?" Mia frowned. "How can you tell?"

"Because she's fighting as if she's trying to defeat an unbeatable enemy rather than a real duel," the man replied.

Emily became confused. "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Nina and Jayden were now fighting at a dangerous height, both trying to make sure they weren't going to fall as they fought. Jayden jumped down to the ground, Nina following.

"It's a lot different when you're fighting for survival," the man went on. The clashing of swords continued. "You fight with instinct. You have to watch your target like a hawk. It's easy to get tired in a long battle when there's no one to say stop." They all watched as Jayden appeared to get the upper hand. The two rangers stood across from each other, each in a different fighting position. "The red warrior has a good stance. It reduces arm fatigue. He'll stay strong. And when the orange goes for the shot, the red will see his opening and he'll strike. He's looking for a decisive blow. That's the difference between the two."

Nina made her move, sword ready to strike. Jayden knocked her sword down as he moved. He set his on fire and spun, hitting Nina right in the stomach. Nina's suit sparked for a moment as the sword fell out of her hands. A purple cloud of evil left her body and exploded in mid air. Nina fell to the ground, no longer morphed.

"Nina!" Emily yelled as the other four rangers ran over to her. They turned her over so she was lying on her back. "Nina! Nina! Wake up, Nina!"

"She probably needs some air, guys," Mia advised as the orange ranger started to come to.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Right now," Mia looked to the others. "We have some work to do." The four helped the younger girl to her feet as Metamot reappeared.

"Red Ranger!" he shouted. "You had this planned all along!"

Jayden decided to explain. "When we fought in the forest, my resist symbol power protected me from your mind control ray. We weren't sure if the resist disc's power would work on Nina too. But I had to try. I had no other choice." He turned to his sister. "Sorry I had to risk fighting you. But I had to get into a close enough position to use the disc."

"Fighting me?" Nina frowned, even more confused.

"Because you're such a good fighter," Jayden nodded. "It took me a lot longer to get close enough to use it. Luckily, it worked."

* * *

After finishing off Metamot for good, bringing Nina back to their side, and getting the tiger zord, the samurai were ready to relax. They found themselves back at the Shiba house, four of the six playing a board game. Nina had gone to the girls' room to relax, needing a bit of time to herself. She had checked her emails and played with her zord for a bit, thinking about what could've gone on in the fight that she couldn't remember.

Jayden walked in to find her sitting on her bed, the ocelot zord open and out, running around. She noticed he had entered. "After today, I don't feel much like playing."

"It wasn't your fault," Jayden assured. "That Nighlok was the one playing games and using us as the pieces."

"Wouldn't be the first time that's happened," Nina muttered, recalling when she and her fellow Sibuna members had to race against time and find the Mask of Anubis, Senkhara using the Sibuna members as game pieces to do so. Of course, there was also the game of Senet where they had to literally be the pieces.

"What?" Jayden frowned, having heard it.

"Nothing," Nina shook her head.

Jayden decided to continue. "Tiger's one of our toughest allies, and even he couldn't resist that Nighlok's spell."

"But I raised my sword against you," she stated.

"And I raised mine against you," he countered. "Sometimes we can't avoid putting each other at risk, no matter how much it hurts." Again, this brought Nina's memories of when Senkhara had marked them all with the mark of Anubis and cursed them, something she had no control over.

"But we have to do our best for the greater good," Nina rolled her eyes.

Jayden chuckled. "You sound like mentor."

"I feel like I should keep a journal of all the things Gran taught me and when I use them around here," Nina mused. "I seem to be doing that a lot, lately."

"Maybe you should," the red ranger shrugged. "Now come on. I think Mia and Emily want us to join the next round of the game they're playing."

Nina sighed and stood, her zord folding up so it could join her.

* * *

A/N: Ending it there. Nice brother/sister moment with Jayden and Nina. What'll happen next?


	14. House of Realization

**House of Rangers **

**Chapter 14: House of Realization**

_A/N: So I've decided that this is the chapter where Fabian discovers the real reason why Nina left. Anyway, what'll happen when he finally reaches a conclusion on Nina's disappearance? What does Eddie tell him that helps him? Will Sibuna discover it as well, or will they be kept out of the loop? What'll happen? HOA chapters are going to be a bit short._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

Almost as sudden as it happened, everyone had pretty much disregarded the short visit from Nina's sister. The only thing about it they were concerned with was why Nina had never told anyone she had a sister, and that had most of the Sibuna members thinking that Nina was hiding more than she let on. Fabian and Eddie knew that she was, and Fabian was on the verge of figuring out what Nina wanted him to. It had been a week since the visit from Nina's sister, and as usual, things went back to normal.

This morning, Eddie found himself waking up with a major headache after an odd dream. He didn't understand the dream at all, but he figured it had something to do with what was in the dream. He saw some of the people on the new ranger team, one of them being Nina, one being his cousin, and the other he was unsure of. They were all morphed, so he couldn't see their faces, but he knew that Nina and his cousin were two of the three he saw based on their ranger color.

After that, he saw the school. This time, however, it was more chaotic. Screams were heard as he saw students running every which way to get away from the building. It was clear it wasn't a fire drill, since those were orderly and calm. He got his answer when he saw the creatures his cousin was fighting off attack the school, almost as if they were looking for something. From out of nowhere, Eddie had seen the green, yellow, and orange samurai rangers in morph step in and fight off the creatures. It was a weird dream, yet it felt so real.

Eddie sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. He saw Fabian was already up and on his computer. Thankfully, it was the weekend, meaning they didn't have school. Eddie looked at the clock and realized he had slept a bit later than he normally did, which was unusual, even when he had weird dreams before. Yawning, he started to get up and get ready for the day. "Dude," he called to his roommate. "How much longer is it gonna take you to figure it out?"

"Hopefully not much longer," Fabian replied, not looking up from his screen. He knew Eddie understood what he was doing, the two having talked about it once before, the day after Nina's sister had visited. "I feel like I almost got it, yet there's still something missing."

"Maybe you only think there's something missing because something is telling you this all has to be some sort of dream," Eddie suggested.

"Maybe," Fabian agreed. "But I know I almost have it figured out."

"Well good luck," Eddie wished as he walked out of the room, heading for the shower.

* * *

After his roommate left the room, Fabian focused more on the web page open in front of him. He knew that the symbol on the arrow, the rangers' uniforms, and Lauren's backpack was the key to tying this whole mystery all together. As a result of that, he had pulled up the page on the ranger website that had the legacy, and scrolled down to the bottom where information on the samurai rangers was. He reread the information in it, and found what he was looking for.

At the bottom of the article to the side was a picture of the same symbol, a caption underneath it. The caption was hard to make out, but Fabian could read it just fine. "Red ranger's family crest," he muttered. He turned his attention back to the small piece of the article that talked about the symbol and read aloud to himself. "The symbol is attached to arrows with different colored tails, meant to summon the samurai rangers to duty. When called to duty, the samurai already know where to go and have been trained on what to expect."

Fabian frowned as he read this. The arrow that had been shot at Anubis house had the symbol on it. After recalling that, he pieced together the whole situation. First, the arrow with the symbol on it hit the house. Nina left in the middle of the night that night. She went back home to California. Within the week, the Samurai Power Rangers had appeared, their uniforms having the same symbol on the arrow. Nina had explained to him what she could, and told him that he had to figure out something. Things appeared to be normal. Then Nina's sister visited, and he found the same symbol on her backpack. Combining that with the information he had found online, he came to one conclusion.

"Nina's a power ranger," he muttered to himself as Eddie walked back in. The American noticed his roommate's shocked look, and came to one conclusion.

"You finally cracked it?" he asked, flopping down onto his own bed.

"Is she really a power ranger?" Fabian looked to him, hoping he could confirm the thought.

"Yeah," Eddie nodded. "So is my cousin. Nina's the orange one. You do realize you can't tell anyone, right?"

Fabian frowned. "I know, Nina told me. But why?"

"Something to do with rules about their identities being kept secret," Eddie tried recalling what he had heard. "I think it has to do with protection of the power as well. I wasn't really paying attention when it was explained to my cousins."

Fabian just sat back on his bed, trying to comprehend what he had just found out.

* * *

A/N: So much shorter than most of the other HOA chapters in this, but this (I hope) will build into the next HOA chapters. Up next is "Test of the Leader" in the rangers side.


	15. Test of the Leader

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 15: Test of the Leader**

_A/N: Here's the next chapter. Some things are revealed to the rangers about Nina and Jayden, as well as Nina's life at Anubis house. What exactly will she tell them, and what new fears will she develop? I skipped "Forest for the Trees" because I couldn't find a way to make it fit into this story too well. Anyway, I hope this chapter turns out okay, and hopefully it works._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

Not long after breakfast a couple weeks later, the rangers found themselves morphed and off fighting attacking moogers. Last week had been a bit hectic with Mike upset about not being chosen to control the beetle disc, but things worked out in the end, Mia deciding he would better be able to control it. Now, they all had work to do as they fought off oncoming moogers, who were terrorizing people in the middle of the city. All of them were morphed by the time they got there, having done so on their way out of the house.

As they arrived, they noticed a few giant moogers starting to rampage through the city, along with regular moogers terrorizing people. It was only moogers, and there was no actual Nighlok monster visible yet. Upon arriving, the girls immediately went to fend off the regular moogers, helping get people away to safety. The boys went to focus on the giant moogers, calling the zords to help them out. Mia cut in and saved a boy who couldn't have been much younger than Nina and Emily from being injured by a group of moogers that surrounded him.

Emily and Nina focused on getting other civilians away as they blocked off mooger attacks. "Sure hope the guys show up soon," Emily commented as the three girls fought.

"Here they come," Nina spoke, spotting the tiger, beetle, and swordfish zords roll in. The three boys began to fight off the giant moogers, the girls doing their own thing on the ground.

"These creeps never get tired," Emily huffed.

"Yeah," Mia agreed as the girls found themselves standing back to back to back. "This isn't looking good." Moogers surrounded them, and before they could be hit, Jayden appeared and wrecked the circle. Mike and Kevin joined in as the rangers stood in a circle, their backs to the center of it.

"Man are we glad to see you guys," Nina breathed.

"Wow," Mike looked around at all the moogers. "There's a whole lot of ugly here."

Jayden nodded. "Yep. Time to change this picture." He set a disc on his sword and set it on fire, swinging at the moogers. The others did the same with their swords and their elements, the moogers falling at the hits. The six samurai stood in formation.

More moogers appeared. "What?" Mike blinked. "There's more?"

"Ugh!" Mia groaned. "They're like roaches."

"Then we have to be the exterminators," Kevin spoke as they were once more surrounded. All of them split off and began to fight off a small group of moogers each. They stuck close enough to help each other, yet far enough to keep the amount of moogers from multiplying. In the middle of the fighting, something caused the moogers all to stop fighting and do something else.

A faint voice could be heard. _"Red ranger…Chosen One…"_

"Guys," Mia called having heard it. "They want Jayden!"

"What's going on?" Jayden asked as he and Nina started to become surrounded by the moogers.

"_Red ranger…Chosen One…Red ranger…Chosen One…"_

"Master Xandred," Jayden muttered. He and his sister began fighting off the moogers that headed for them.

Mike was first to notice. "Check it out. That weird voice is putting these moogers into a trance. "

"Yeah," Emily added. "It's like they're hypnotized."

"_Red ranger…Chosen One…"_

"It's creeping me out!" Mike grumbled.

"Hey, let's circle up to protect Jayden," Kevin suggested. The other four rangers moved to position themselves in a circle near Jayden and Nina, everyone but Jayden trying to fight off the moogers. "Jayden, watch out!" Jayden defended himself from an oncoming mooger.

He threw the mooger back. "I've been wanting to try out a new symbol combination for a while. And now is the time." He took Nina's sword from her hands, since she was the closest. Nina looked a bit startled, but trusted Jayden knew what he was doing. Jayden placed a disc on her sword and spun the ones on both swords at the same time. "Spin sword, blazing storm!" The other five rangers ducked down as he swung the swords in a circle, destroying all the moogers.

"_Red ranger… Chosen One…you're in danger!" _

As the voice faded, the rangers walked toward where they heard it, dropping their morph as they did so.

"All right," Mike huffed. "Can someone please tell me what the heck that voice was?"

"I've never heard anything so evil," Emily commented.

"That wasn't just a normal Nighlok," Nina looked to her brother. "Was it, Jayden?"

"No," he answered, glancing over his shoulder at them. "I think that was Master Xandred."

"Master Xandred?" Kevin frowned. "As in the lord of the Nighloks? You think he's back?"

Mia followed it. "Are you serious?"

"Why would he be calling out 'red ranger' and 'chosen one?'" Mike added. "Why just you?"

Nina looked at her brother, knowing it was time for some things to be revealed.

* * *

After the fight, all the rangers made their way back to the Shiba house. Many questions filled their mind, especially Nina's. She knew that the Nighlok master now knew she was the Chosen One, but she was still unsure about how much the Nighlok knew about it. Most of the other rangers wanted to know who exactly the Chosen One was and why Jayden was being called out by the head of the Nighlok. They didn't understand what was so special about it. "Why were the moogers only after Jayden?" Kevin asked first. They all sat around the common room, Ji standing near the orange and red rangers.

"Jayden, Nina, Master Xandred must know," Ji looked to the two. The two looked back at him.

"Know what?" Mike questioned. "Are you keeping secrets from us?" Ji moved closer to the coffee table and took the empty seat.

"There is a secret symbol," he began explaining. "That can create a seal. The previous red and orange rangers used it to imprison Master Xandred. When Master Xandred last attacked us, it was a surprise. And we were nearly defeated. That symbol is how Jayden and Nina's mother and father were able to seal Xandred away last time."

"So that means it's up to them now?" Mike concluded.

"Yes," Ji nodded. "Only members of the Shiba family can use the seal."

Mike looked to the red and orange rangers. "Guess that means you really are the people."

"Their parents did everything they could to save us," Emily realized.

"What I don't get is why it was only Jayden who got called out," Kevin grabbed their attention, which prevented Jayden from leaving the room. "I mean, if both of them have the power to seal Xandred away, then why was it only Jayden who got called out?"

"I don't think it was," Mia spoke before Nina could. The orange ranger knew she had to explain about her life at Anubis house now. "I mean, that was the second time a Nighlok has mentioned the Chosen One, and the first time it was said directly to Nina."

"Nina," Ji brought the attention to her. "Would you like to explain why that is?" He was clueless about the Chosen One as the others were, but since it seemed to be directed toward Nina, it seemed like the most logical thing for her to know about it.

Nina sighed. "The Chosen One is someone who is born on the seventh day of the seventh month at the seventh hour."

"That's when you were born," Jayden recalled. He may have only been two when his little sister was born, but he knew that that was her birthday.

"So you're saying that you're the Chosen One, whatever that means?" Mike wondered. Nina nodded. "Well, what does it mean?"

"Being the Chosen One means that only I can assemble the Cup of Ankh on a certain day at a certain hour once every twenty five years," Nina stated, continuing the explanation.

"Cup of Ankh?" Mia interrupted with a frown.

Nina went on. "The cup of immortality. Everything connecting to being the Chosen One deals with Egyptian mythology. The cup was broken into seven pieces, which is what me and some of my friends at the boarding school I went to in England found. I put it together when I was supposed to, and it's hidden away there."

"How is it the cup of immortality?" Kevin asked.

"There is an elixir of life, which is very difficult to make because of one the ingredients," the orange ranger explained. "The hardest ingredient to obtain is the tears of gold, which is another matter dealing with the Mask of Anubis. When the elixir of life is drank from the Cup of Ankh, it gives the person who drank from it eternal life, meaning they can't die. However, it's a life for a life concept. Someone drinks from the cup to gain immortality, someone has to die. Drinking from the cup tips the scales of life."

"Do you think that the Nighlok could go after it?" Emily thought.

"Possibly," Nina agreed. "And if they do, then this could go on for years."

"Why don't you start at the very beginning of how you learned about this," Ji suggested. "After lunch."

Nina shook her head. "I'll explain after I know that the cup and elixir is somewhere the Nighlok can't get to."

* * *

"Come on, answer!" Nina grumbled as she waited for the person she was calling to pick up the phone. She knew the person was probably asleep, given the time difference, but she needed to talk now. It was something that couldn't wait. She had tried calling a few times before, but each time it had gone to voicemail. With a sigh, she ended the call and dialed again. This time, after a few rings, someone answered. "Finally!"

"_What?" _the voice on the other end answered, rather tiredly. _"Who is this?" _

"Eddie!" Nina hissed. "Wake up!"

"_Huh? Oh," _Eddie yawned. _"Sorry Nina. What's going on? You do realize it's kind of late at night here, right?"_

Nina rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. However, if this wasn't important, I wouldn't be calling."

"_And what's important about this phone call?" _Eddie groaned.

"Has Fabian figured it out yet?"

"_Yeah, why?" _Eddie sighed.

Nina explained. "Because I'm going to have to go there and get the cup, and where Fabian knows where it is, I can trust him to help me get it."

"_So you're saying the Nighlok know about it?" _Eddie grumbled.

"Just…expect a visit from Emily soon," Nina huffed. She hung up just as the Gap Sensor went off.

* * *

On their way to the battlefield, Nina could sense her brother was very tense. Unlike him, she had not overheard the conversation the others had had during training, having been trying to contact Eddie. She didn't want to know what they were talking about either, having a good idea of what it probably was about. When the six arrived in the quarry, they saw nothing was there. "The Nighlok must be here somewhere," Emily commented.

"There he is!" Mike pointed to the top of a cliff, where the Nighlok was standing. They all turned to face him, ready to fight.

"Which ones are the red and orange rangers?" Nina and Jayden both took a small step forward. "Why hello there. Rumor has it that you've got some special tricks up your sleeve. The boss has a problem with that, so I have to destroy you. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Jayden called out. "We'll show you who's gonna be sorry!"

Mia whispered to Kevin. "Master Xandred must know that they have the sealing power." Jayden began moving forward, Nina sensing that she needed to follow him.

"This is too dangerous," Kevin spoke as he and Mike held them back. "This is exactly the type of battle both of you should avoid. Let us do our duty and protect you." Jayden shrugged Kevin off and ran forward. Nina rolled her eyes and went after him, trying to prevent him from doing something stupid. Rabtish threw attacks at them, but the two rangers kept running through it.

"Go go samurai!" they shouted, morphing. They drew their spin swords and began attacking the Nighlok.

On the ground, the others were getting back to their feet and watching the fight. "Why won't they listen?" Mia wondered.

"I don't know," Kevin sighed. "Let's just get up there. Get out your samurizers, guys." The four drew their samurizers and proceeded to morph, drawing their swords as well. As they ran to help their two teammates, moogers appeared in their way. Nina and Jayden continued their brawl with the Nighlok, trying to block all the attacks headed for them. Rabtish knocked both back, and they retaliated by injuring him.

Both rangers were then hit by his double slash attack, sending them off the cliff and onto the ground below, where the others were fighting. The two groaned in pain as the Nighlok jumped down. Carefully, the red and orange rangers got back up. Before they got hit with the next attack, Emily and Kevin jumped in, taking the blow for them. It caused the two to lose their morph and drop to the ground. Nina covered the two fallen rangers as the Nighlok walked closer and Jayden got ready to attack.

However, Mia and Mike jumped in the way, finishing off the moogers and then standing in front of Jayden, Nina, Emily, and Kevin to protect them. Before they could be hit, the mysterious Nighlok from before appeared and began attacking the two rangers as well as the other Nighlok. One blow got Mia and Mike out of the way, causing them to roll back and lose their morph. Dekker aimed for Jayden, but the red ranger moved faster. Nina looked up and watched as the battle was at a standstill.

Seconds later, the fight was back on between the two Nighlok and the red ranger. Nina carefully moved toward where Mia and Mike lay, going to check on them before getting into the fight herself. A misdirected blast ended up hitting her before she could reach the two, and she was sent flying back high in the air and into the cliff wall behind her. She screamed as she flew. After crashing, she fell to the ground, demorphed and unconscious.

Jayden noticed this and felt himself become angrier. He continued fighting off the two Nighlok, hoping no one else would get hurt in the crossfire. After finally getting the two Nighlok to back off and leave, Jayden let out a sigh and ran over toward the others. Nina was still lying unconscious as Mia and Mike checked over them. Emily and Kevin were barely awake. Mike pulled out his samurizer and called Ji, hoping that he could help.

* * *

Getting back to the Shiba house with three injured rangers was difficult. When they did get back, they had set Emily, Kevin, and Nina up in the room that was acting as an infirmary. The three injured rangers were lying in comfortable beds. Kevin had his arm in a sling, and Emily had more bruises than she did injuries that needed to be bandaged. Nina had only managed to injure her ribs, given how hard she was slammed into the cliff. That had been bandaged up, and Mia and Mike now sat on the bed across from the three. They hadn't seen Jayden since they had gotten back.

"Rangers," Ji walked in, getting the attention of those who were awake. "Has anyone seen Jayden?"

"Is he in the dojo?" Mike asked quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping rangers.

"No."

* * *

A/N: Ending this one here. Up next is the Jayden's Challenge episode. Why I'm not doing an HOA chapter next will be explained in the next chapter.


	16. Jayden's Challenge

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 16: Jayden's Challenge**

_A/N: Last time, the others learned Nina and Jayden were siblings and that both were responsible to learn the sealing power, and they thought that they needed to protect the two. Nina knows Fabian knows she's a ranger, meaning getting to England to get the cup and elixir should be easier now that he knows. In the fight, Nina, Emily, and Kevin got badly injured. Jayden disappeared in the night and no one knows where he went. _

_This is not an HOA chapter because this chapter and the previous one flow into each other and the next (two, hopefully) will be HOA chapter(s). _

_Also, I just want to say a couple things about the HOA finale. I feel like it would've been a bit better if Nina had returned just for the last scene and she and Fabian had gotten back together (in one of my HOA stories part of a different series, I will have that happen) or at least talked or something. Same thing with possibly bringing Amber back. I mean, how can they have Sibuna be celebrating without Nina and Amber? The other thing is that I always thought Fabian and Mara would make a cute couple had Nina not been in the picture (I still ship Fabina, I don't care for Jabian, but if Fabian wasn't with Nina, I would rather see him with Mara than with Joy). Just wanted to say that._

_Italics are flashbacks._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

The next morning, Emily, Kevin, and Nina were all feeling better and sitting up in bed, relaxing. They had been told Jayden was nowhere to be seen, and none of them had said anything about it. Ji had tried to do a bit of searching for the red ranger during the night, but he had come up with nothing. Nina knew her brother was probably wandering the city, trying to clear his head. Mike walked into the room eating from a bowl of cereal. "You know," he began. "A young samurai once told me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"I told you that," Kevin reminded him as he sat up on his bed, letting his legs hang off the side of it. "I'll eat once I finish this. While I've been laid up, I've been thinking about the possibility of combining the samurai Battlewing and the megazord."

"Last time I had a sick day," Mike remarked. "I played video games, drank ginger ale, and had chicken soup." Kevin rolled his eyes and Mike looked to the pink ranger. "What's up with you?"

"Jayden's still not back," Mia stated.

"Hello, everyone," Ji walked in, pretending to be happy. "Hi girls. Hope you're feeling better. Have you finished breakfast?"

"You can cut the happy-happy act," Mike got to the point. "We know something's up."

Mia stood. "We know Jayden's gone."

"Don't worry," Ji sighed. "He'll be back. The rest of us just need to focus on our mission."

_Yeah, because that's all that matters, _Nina rolled her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep. She didn't want to pay attention to the conversation, especially when she was trying to call for Sarah's help.

* * *

Jayden had been wandering around the city all night. He hadn't wanted to put his team, especially his little sister, in danger. Of course, he knew he couldn't stop that because it would take a team to defeat Xandred, but he was determined to do what he could to make sure none of them got injured too badly. After what had happened in the previous day's fight, he felt he needed to get away, at least for a little while.

At the moment, he leaned over a railing that separated the park from the beach. The wind was lightly blowing as he looked out over the ocean. He had a bunch of thoughts running through his head, and being somewhere calm and peaceful had always helped him relax and clear his head, which was what he needed to do now.

There were a few regrets he had growing up, and even during the ranger career up to this point. He regretted not keeping better contact with his sisters, Nina especially. Jayden felt like he and Nina had less to talk about, since she was so young when the three were separated, and aside from those three years Jayden and his older spent with her before they were separated, he hardly knew her. Of course, since she came back, it appeared as if nothing had changed, but he knew that both knew otherwise. He also regretted not being able to protect her from getting hurt, as she had in yesterday's battle. That regret was thanks to his big-brother instinct.

_I wish I had tried to get to know you better, Nina, _he sighed to himself. Even with the first couple of months of being at the Shiba house with the rest of the team, it seemed Mia and Emily knew Nina better than he, her own brother, knew her. The two had talked more than the others had to each other, and the secret Nina was holding back from them made it seem like she didn't trust them to hold it. That had hurt Jayden, getting the feeling like his sister couldn't trust him with a secret that could possibly effect their current fight. She had mentioned a few things about it, but not enough to paint a clear picture for anyone.

_Why can't life be simple like it was back then? _He mused, wishing that they had no Nighlok to worry about.

_A five year old Jayden was trying to practice a few symbols his father had taught him in his room at night. The current ranger team was up in the living room, hanging out how they usually did at the end of the day. Things hadn't exactly been the same for Jayden and his little sister since their parents had made the decision to send Lauren away. It was a hard decision for them to make, but they knew what they were doing. The Nighlok were getting stronger, and most nights the team had spent discussing how they could defeat the Nighlok._

_By this time at night, Jayden knew Nina was asleep. She was only three, and she liked to take naps. The two were now the only kids in the house, it being their home and all, but even with them to keep each other occupied, it could still get boring and dull. They couldn't leave the house with the Nighlok running around, so it was more boring than before. Of course, the adults sometimes played with them, but most of their time was spent training and keeping their skills sharp. Jayden, even at his young age, knew that stopping the Nighlok was more important. Nina, however, was still too young to understand it._

_The young boy heard his door slowly creak open, and he turned to see his sister standing there, looking upset and holding her blanket and favorite stuffed animal, which was a black fuzzy bunny. For some reason, whenever Nina had nightmares, she didn't go to her parents, but rather to her brother. No one knew why, but most of the adults thought it was cute how a three year old somehow trusted her brother enough to go to him for comfort about nightmares. _

"_Jay Jay," she called softly. "You wake?" Jayden sighed and set his brush down. Nina had yet to learn how to pronounce his name correctly, but he didn't mind the nickname. She was the only one to call him that, and to him, it made their bond better. The boy climbed off the small stool he had been sitting on and walked over to where she was standing. _

"_What's wrong, Neens?" he asked, leading her into the room. He shut the door over a bit, trying to drown out the voices of the adults. _

"_I saw her again," Nina whispered, as if scared. "Old lady. She said some 'tin 'bout a cup. And an…eli..an elikzer…"_

"_An elixir?" Jayden frowned. This nightmare was a common one Nina had been having a lot lately, since she had turned three a few months ago. Nina nodded, thanking him for understanding. "Neens, it was just a nightmare."_

"_But it felt real," the three year old pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. _

_Jayden bit his lip, not sure how to respond. "Maybe you could wish the nightmare away."_

"_Wish away?" Nina looked at him questioningly. Jayden nodded. He knew it probably wouldn't work, but she was only three, and she didn't know what exactly to believe in. "How?"_

"_I'll show you," he got up, and walked her to the window that looked out of his room. He shut the bedroom light off on their way there. When they got there, the two stood on a couple of stools and looked to the sky. Jayden opened the window so they could feel the cool night air._

"_What we do now?" she asked._

"_Fold your hands like this," Jayden clasped his hands together and put them on the window sill. Nina looked at him for a moment before doing the same. "Now repeat after me: star light, star bright."_

"_Star light, star bright," she repeated. The two were looking at the stars in the sky._

"_First star I see tonight," Jayden continued. _

"_First star I see tonight."_

"_I wish I may, I wish I might."_

"_I wish I may, I wish I might."_

"_Have the wish I wish tonight."_

"_Have the wish I wish tonight."_

_Jayden smiled. "Now saw what you wish for." Nina looked to him in confusion, so he went first. "I wish that this war will be over soon, and things will be normal again. Your turn."_

"_I wish for my bad dreams to stop," Nina demanded. "Please?"_

"_Come on," Jayden chuckled lightly. He helped her down from the stool she stood on before shutting the window. "You can stay here until you fall asleep."_

_The next morning, the two were found curled together in Jayden's bed, both fast asleep. _

Jayden smiled at the memory. It was one of his favorite ones he had with his sister, and he just realized how much had really changed since then. No longer was his sister the little kid who came to him when she had a nightmare. Now, his sister was a sixteen going on seventeen year old girl, who had already had her first relationship, broken heart, and knew more about the real world than he probably did. Out of the three Shiba kids, Nina's life was the most normal.

A sound of crying drew him from his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder to the playground, where a bunch of kids were playing. Sitting on a bench was a small boy, around six years of age, crying. After staring a moment, Jayden stood and headed over to him. "What's wrong, buddy?" he asked, kneeling down to the boy's level.

"My daddy went away for a job," the small boy muttered. "And I miss him."

"Yeah," Jayden nodded. "I know how you feel. I miss my dad too."

_Jayden stood on the porch of the Shiba house, his dad looking him straight in the eye as Ji stood behind Jayden. "One day," his father began. "The great responsibility of being the red ranger will fall to you. Remember, protect the world from evil, stand by your allies, and never run from a battle."_

"Are you okay?" the boy asked, dragging Jayden from his thoughts.

Jayden smiled a little. "Yeah." He sat on the bench beside the boy. "Do you wanna see a little trick?" Pulling out his samurizer, Jayden made a piece of red paper appear. "Pretty cool, huh?" He then proceeded to fold the paper into a paper airplane. When it was done, he picked it up and tossed it, him and the little boy watching it glide gracefully through the air.

* * *

A while later, after a bunch of paper airplanes had been made courtesy of Jayden and little kids were tossing them around, moogers appeared to ruin the fun. Jayden had instructed the teacher to get the kids somewhere safe, which was natural instinct. Throwing his bag off his shoulder, Jayden ran in to fight off the moogers. He knew his teammates would show up at some point, and at this point, he was hoping they would. The same boy he helped earlier was pulling out the airplane Jayden had made him from under the Nighlok's foot. Jayden saw this and sent his lion zord to knock the Nighlok back as he carried the boy out of harm's way. After setting him with his classmates, Jayden kicked back a mooger that had followed him.

"We meet again," Rabtish spoke as the kids ran away and Jayden stood. "Too bad Dekker isn't here to save you this time."

"I'm happy to destroy you all by myself, Nighlok," Jayden turned to face him, glaring.

"Oh, that's nice," Rabtish shrugged. "I myself don't mind having someone else to do my dirty work. Chop chop."

Jayden drew his spin sword as the moogers charged.

* * *

After the fight, all of the rangers, Jayden included, made it back to the Shiba house. The other five rangers had shown up to help fight, and after convincing Jayden that they were protecting him because they wanted to and that a team protected each other, no matter what. Together, the six had managed to take down the Nighlok in both of its forms, and now things were normal. However, there was still one issue at hand, one Nina needed to explain. Ji had welcomed them all back, and had told them that they needed to discuss the thing with Nina being the Chosen One.

"Nina," Ji looked to her once everyone had been seated. "What do you suggest we do to get whatever this cup is back and keep is safe from the Nighlok?"

"Split up," Nina declared. She had been thinking about this all night, and she came up with a solution. "Three of us go to England, the other three stay here. We can't all go and leave the city unprotected, and I have to go to England, since I know where the Cup is and I'm the only one who can get to it."

"Who else would go with you?" Jayden asked.

"Emily," Nina looked to the yellow ranger.

"Me?" she frowned.

Nina nodded. "The Cup is hidden at the boarding school I went to, the same one your cousin goes to. If you say you're visiting him, they'll all be too distracted to see me sneak in and get the cup."

"What about the other person?" Emily wondered.

"Either Kevin or Mike," Nina declared. "You two can draw straws or something to see who goes, but it'll probably be best if we have one of the guys with us. Jayden, I would say you could go, but you're the leader, and it would be better for you to stay here." Jayden simply nodded.

"Is it settled, then?" Ji looked around the room. They all nodded. "I'll go make flight preparations."

Nina sighed. Things were going to be a lot more complicated.

* * *

A/N: Up next, Nina, Emily, and either Kevin or Mike travel to England and to the boarding school. What'll happen when the two worlds finally collide?


	17. House of Weird Part I

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 17: House of Weird**

**Part I**

_A/N: Last time, Jayden didn't go back home until after the battle against the Nighlok. He got lost in memories and wondered what exactly was happening between him and his sister, knowing that they no longer had the same bond they had when they were kids. It was decided that Nina, Emily, and either Mike or Kevin were going to England to get the Cup of Ankh and elixir of life. _

_What chaos will ensue during their trip?_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

The next morning, Nina, Mike, and Emily found themselves on a plane heading for England. Ji had gotten accommodations and everything set up for them for at least a week, in case they needed that much time. Nina knew it wouldn't take that long to complete this, but she was glad for the extra time. If luck was on their side, then they would be out of there within a few days. They had been on the flight for a few hours, and there was still a few more to go, followed by a four hour train ride.

Mike had joined them, he and Kevin had worked out which one of them would stay and which one of them would go, both agreeing that Mike should go. Neither said why, but Nina didn't care as long as one of them was there. Nina had a feeling she would need him for help should something go wrong and the school be attacked and whatnot.

Nina had devised a plan, and it was going to require help from Emily and Mike. After they got settled in their hotel room Ji had gotten them, Emily was to go to the school and visit her cousin. Nina knew that her housemates would be a bit too distracted by having a visitor that she could get Fabian to meet with her. She would text Fabian and ask him to meet her in the Sibuna clearing right after school, and with Emily distracting the others, no one would notice that Fabian would be gone. Mike was there to keep an eye on things and handle any attacks that looked like they were about to occur.

If all of that went well, and if Nina got Fabian's help, then she would be able to get to the cup, which she had hidden in the last place any of the Sibuna members would think of looking. She had hidden it once more before leaving, and no one but her knew where it was. She knew Fabian would still have the elixir hidden somewhere safe. The only thing Nina was worried about was what would happen if the school itself got attacked. It might look a little suspicious for the three of them to defend the place if moogers suddenly showed up at the same time they did.

"So what's this place like, anyway?" Mike asked, breaking the silence. Their seats were next to each others on the plane. "You never really talked about it before."

"Honestly," Nina sighed, sitting back. "It reminded me of Hogwarts. I mean, not as old, but just the style of the buildings."

"So creepy and mysterious," Mike concluded. "Got it."

"Anything you can tell me about Eddie and your friends?" Emily wondered. "He tells me very little when it comes to that."

"Doesn't surprise me," Nina shook her head. "It's kind of hard for me to describe everyone. I mean, they're a unique bunch. You got a bookworm, a science geek, a goth type, a princess, a…not exactly a diva, but can act like one, the prankster, the jokester, and Eddie. My first year there, there was a jock, but he transferred to a sports school in Australia."

"Princess?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

Nina chuckled. "Not really a princess but acts like one sometimes. Actually, she's like a girlier blonde version of Mia; loves pink, fairy tale relationships, but unlike Mia, she's not too bright. She does have her moments, though."

"Interesting."

"Em, when you visit, you probably shouldn't mention you know me," Nina advised. "I mean, Eddie will know that you know me because he knows about what we do, but if anyone else knows we know each other, it'll get chaotic."

"Don't worry about it, Neens," Emily smiled. "Everything will go fine."

_Here's hoping, _Nina sighed.

* * *

Everything was as normal as it could possibly get in Anubis House. Fabian, now that he knew why exactly Nina had left, was completely back to his old self, the same old self he was right before Nina left. The rest of the Sibuna members were starting to get a little suspicious about there being something more to Nina leaving than what they already knew about it. They weren't putting much thought into it though, since Nina was doing her best to stay in touch with them while she was gone, but something about her never telling them she had a sister still stuck in all of their minds. There had to be a specific reason, and Sibuna members were determined to find it out.

Things seemed to go smoothly. With no giant mystery to solve and no more having to put their lives in danger because of some Egyptian myth, everyone in the house finally felt like they had time to relax. The couples were freely dating, having more time to go on actual dates and not having to postpone them for something Sibuna related. For them, life seemed…normal, compared to what it had been since Nina first arrived.

Everyone was happy as well. Jerome and Alfie continued their usual routine of pranking people and joking around. Patricia and Eddie continued to annoy each other, yet not kill each other. Fabian was still reading books filled with science things most wouldn't understand. Amber, as usual, was still obsessed with the latest celebrity gossip. Mara was being as studious as ever. Joy was doing what Nina had asked her to, and making sure Fabian was happy, and was also catching up on things she missed since she had disappeared. It was like Nina was a distant memory, but there was still an empty space for her to fill when she returned.

At this moment, most of the Anubis residents were hanging out in the student lounge, relaxing. They had a break between classes at the moment, and their next class was in the lounge anyway. Really, the only one who wasn't there was Eddie. The others were joking around about random things, as if things hadn't changed since before Nina arrived. Their conversations didn't stop when Fabian felt his phone going off. Frowning, he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the message he had received.

_Fabian_

_Meet me tomorrow, after school. Sibuna clearing. Tell no one. _

_Nina._

Fabian frowned for a moment before sending a quick reply and couldn't help but wonder if this was a prank. Given the past they've had with Sibuna and mysterious messages, no one could blame him for being a bit skeptical. He trusted that this message really was from Nina, but if being in Sibuna taught him anything, it was that you could never really be sure about something until you have enough proof. Of course, he was also wondering why she wanted to meet him alone and why he wasn't supposed to tell anyone.

All of a sudden, the ground began shaking, and screams could be heard from a different area in the building.

Eddie came running in, a bit out of breath. "We need to get out of here, now!" He wasted no time in pulling Patricia up from her seat.

"What's the rush, Miller?" Jerome wondered as they all got up to follow. More screams could be heard.

"What's with all the screaming?" Amber questioned.

"We're under attack," Eddie breathed as he led them out. He had skipped enough classes to get to know the layout of the school rather well, and he knew where they could leave the building and make it safely back to Anubis house. He knew what was going on, but he couldn't explain what exactly was. "The faster we get to the house, the better."

"Attack?" Mara raised an eyebrow as they followed him. "By what? Who would want to attack a school?"

Her answer came when a mooger appeared in front of the group and stopped them short. "That," Eddie replied. "That's what would attack a school." Slowly, they all began backing up. Eddie, however, backed up slower than the others, hoping he could strike the mooger at the right moment and get them out of there and to safety.

"Eddie, what are you doing?" Patricia demanded. "Get away from that thing!" Eddie ignored her and sent a swift kick into the gut of the mooger, causing it to double over and allowing him to kick it's head.

"Go!" he yelled at his housemates. "I'll be right behind you!" Deciding to run now and talk later, the other seven Anubis residents ran out the doors, heading for Anubis House.

Eddie gave the mooger a final kick in the head before following them.

* * *

"Girls, we got trouble," Mike brought their attention to the TV. They had already gotten to their hotel Ji set them up in and checked in. The same cab driver who had driven Nina to the school both times drove them to the hotel this time. They had been here for the past hour. Emily had called the others to let them know they made it in safely, and was currently flipping through a magazine she had bought at the airport. Nina had been in the bathroom, setting up their toiletries and such. Mike had spent the hour channel surfing, trying to find something good worth watching.

"What kind of trouble?" Nina called as she stood in the bathroom doorway. Ji had rented them a suite, giving each of them their own bed. He didn't have to do that, but he knew it would be less awkward for them all to do so. Emily looked up from her magazine and noticed Mike had stopped on a news channel.

"Turn it up," she ordered. Mike hit the volume button on the remote and they all listened quietly as the news reporter told them what they had to hear.

"_Earlier today, the boarding school in Liverpool was attacked by red and yellow freakish looking creatures. No one is quite sure what they are, where they came from, or why they were attacking at all, especially a school. A good portion of the school building was wrecked during the attack, and few students were injured at most. Thankfully, no one was killed and all the students made it out of the school relatively unscathed…"_

Nina groaned and flopped back onto the bed. "Great. They're here looking for the same exact thing we are, and they know it's somewhere at the school."

"I'm more worried about the fact we didn't realize there's an attack going on," Emily frowned. "I mean, our samurizers would've gone off, right?"

"Only if the gap sensors detected the presence of a Nighlok," the dirty blonde explained. "Since they mainly attack Panorama City and possibly a few surrounding cities, we only have sensors set up there. There's no sensors here. We wouldn't be notified if there was an attack."

"So what do we do next time there's an attack here?" Mike asked.

"Hope we can get to it to stop it," Nina declared. "Now, Em, you should probably call Anubis house and say you're going to be there in the morning to visit Eddie, but say you want the visit to be a surprise. They won't have classes tomorrow, like they just reported, so we can move a bit faster."

Emily nodded. "What do I say?"

"I'll help you," Nina offered, pulling out her phone and dialing the number for Anubis house.

* * *

Trudy had been cleaning around the house as she normally did while everyone was at school. To her, it was just another average day with nothing to worry about. However, when the eight students came running in out of breath and looking like they had seen aliens, she knew that something had been up. They told her about the attacks, and that they had gotten out of there as fast as they could. A few minutes after that, Mr. Sweet had appeared, and made sure all the students in the house were accounted for.

After that, Eddie and Patricia had gone to his room to listen to music. Amber and Joy headed upstairs with Mara, the latter wanting to get homework done as the other two girls were talking about the latest fashions. Jerome and Alfie set about for their room to plan their next prank. Fabian set to work on homework at the table, figuring that would be the only quiet place at the moment to get the work done. Trudy was about to make them all a snack when the house phone went off.

"Anubis House, house mother Trudy speaking," she answered as she always did.

"_Um, hi," _the voice on the other end began. _"Is there an Eddie Miller there?"_

"Yes, there is," Trudy nodded. "Can I ask who's calling?"

"_His cousin, Emily," _the girl replied. _"I just wanted to make sure he lived there. I'm in town for a few days and I was hoping to surprise him by visiting tomorrow, if it's not too much trouble."_

Trudy shrugged. "It shouldn't be a problem. I won't tell him. When do you think you will be here?"

"_Probably around eight in the morning, if that's all right?" _Emily suggested.

"That'll be fine," Trudy smiled. "Just ring the doorbell when you get here." She hung up and went to make snacks. Tomorrow would be an interesting day, she could tell.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter is another HOA one. Things start to be explained.


	18. House of Weird Part II

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 18: House of Weird**

**Part II**

_A/N: Last time, Nina, Mike, and Emily headed to England so Nina could work on getting the cup of Ankh and the elixir of life. They arrived in England and checked into the proper hotel. At the school, everyone thought things were going to be normal, but moogers ended up attacking. Eddie had gotten them out before they could be seriously hurt, and areas of the building were ruined. They shut it down to assess the damage and begin making repairs. Emily plans to surprise visit Eddie, and Nina plans on meeting with Fabian. What's Mike gonna do and what'll happen?_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

Nina didn't know how this day was going to work. Because of they were unable to prevent damage to the school when the moogers attacked, the school wasn't open today. It made her being able to meet with Fabian a bit more complicated, since the house was probably going to be cooped up inside all day. If she knew her friends as well as she hoped she did, then the Sibuna members at least would be trying to figure out what the attack was about and somehow create a new mystery of it.

After the three rangers had eaten breakfast in the hotel, they had left and hailed a cab to head for the school. The cab driver didn't question why they wanted to go there and got them there fast enough. After the cab drove away, Nina led them to Anubis house, where Emily would go in and visit her cousin. Nina left her there and then led Mike into the woods, where she led him to the Sibuna clearing. She would be meeting Fabian here later in the morning and Mike would be hiding up in the trees to wait.

Emily stared at the giant house before her. She had to admit it was a bit creepy and she wondered if she should go in or not. Taking a deep breath, she made her way toward the door. It wasn't that early in the morning, but it was early enough that she knew her cousin would still be asleep. Her job was to keep the others distracted so they wouldn't question where one of their housemates had gone, and aside from that, she was glad she had a chance to visit her cousin.

Not long after she knocked on the door, Trudy answered. "Hi," Emily greeted. "I'm Emily, Eddie's cousin. I spoke to you on the phone yesterday about coming to visit?"

"Oh, yes, please, come in," Trudy stepped aside to let her in. "Not everyone is up yet, and I believe Eddie might still be asleep."

"That's fine," Emily smiled. "I planned on waking him up anyway. Where's his bedroom?"

"Down the hall, first door on the right," Trudy pointed to it. Emily smiled at her before heading toward it. Trudy headed back into the kitchen to finish making breakfast for those who were already up and ready for the day.

* * *

Emily saw that the door to her cousin's room was slightly open, allowing her to peek in. She slowly opened the door, looking around the room. She saw that one bed was perfectly made and no one was in it. When she looked over to the side of the room that was clearly Eddie's, she saw him still sleeping in bed. Smirking, she walked over to it, knowing just how to wake him up. The blonde crept over to his bed and bent down before speaking into his ear.

"Eddie, get up," she whispered. "Mom is making pancakes and bacon and dad could use your help with the barn."

"Too early," Eddie grumbled, the familiar voice not registering in his head.

"Better hurry before Serena eats all the bacon," Emily urged. "You know she loves it."

That got Eddie's attention as his eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly, a little too quickly since he ended up falling out of his bed. Emily couldn't help but laugh. Eddie blinked a few times and got a good look at his surroundings, realizing he was not at his cousins' farm, but rather at Anubis House in England. "It was dream."

"Guess again, Eddie," Emily smirked. Eddie sat up and looked up at her, groaning when he realized she was really there.

"Funny, Em," he muttered. "Real funny."

"Hey, I can't help it that I know how to wake you up," Emily shrugged. "Besides, Trudy told me I could."

Eddie sighed and stood, yawning in the process. "Why are you here? Don't you have to save the world?"

"Nina's here to get the cup back, which is why the school was attacked yesterday," Emily explained. "I'm the distraction so no one will notice your roommate slip away to go meet her."

"Can you tell that to me again after I eat?" Eddie wondered. "My mind is still asleep."

"No problem," Emily smiled. "As long as I get to meet your girlfriend while I'm here, I'm good."

Eddie groaned, knowing that this day was not going to end well.

* * *

After eating breakfast and being introduced to Eddie's cousin, Fabian had received another text from Nina. He read through it, making sure he knew where to meet her and when. He figured that since everyone was distracted by asking Eddie's cousin questions, he would be able to sneak away undetected. Nina had told him to make sure no one followed him or asked where he was going. Luckily, Fabian was able to do just that.

At the moment, he was making the trek through the woods from the house to the clearing to meet Nina. He was hoping that it wasn't a trick or a dream and that this was all real, and he hoped this had nothing to do with the mysteries. Then again, this was Nina, the Chosen One. With her, there was always some sort of mystery. Fabian was also hoping this was real so he could confirm some things he had recently found out about her. Eddie may have told him what he found was true, but he wanted to hear it from Nina to assure him.

When he got to the Sibuna clearing, he saw it was empty. He began to wonder where Nina was. The science geek checked his phone to make sure that he had the right time. When he looked around the clearing again, he saw no sign of Nina. He sighed, starting to think this was all a set up or a prank.

"Fabian?" a familiar voice got his attention. He turned around, spotting Nina behind him. She hadn't changed a bit since he last saw her, except she was sporting a bit more orange.

"Nina," he gasped, shocked to see this was real. The next thing he knew, the dirty blonde had engulfed him in a hug, one he gladly returned. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," Nina stated as they broke from the hug. They sat on the log behind them. "Eddie told me that you figured out what I wanted you to find out."

"So it's true then?" Fabian sighed. "You're a power ranger?"

Nina nodded. "The arrow that was shot at the house was meant for me. It was telling me that I was needed to call on my powers and help save the earth from the things that attacked the school yesterday."

"Why did those things attack the school?" he wondered. "I mean, it doesn't make sense."

"They're after the cup," the orange ranger sighed. "Their boss wants immortality so he can flood the earth with poisonous water. I need to get the cup and the elixir and bring them back home."

"And you need my help sneaking you in so you can get it?" Fabian caught on.

"Yes," Nina confirmed. "Me and two of my teammates, one being Eddie's cousin that you just met and one that's lurking somewhere in the trees behind us are going to help as well."

"What do I need to do?" Fabian wondered.

Nina took a deep breath. "Make sure that there are four amulets ready for use. We gotta go into the tunnels, because I hid the Cup and elixir at the end of them. And when we do this, you need to make sure no one follows us. You're the only person that can know I'm here."

"Anything," the nerd agreed. It was silent for a moment. "I miss you. We all miss you."

"I miss you all too," she sighed. "I really can't wait until I can come back here."

"The others are getting a bit suspicious," Fabian mentioned. "Someone showed up looking for you, I forget what their name was, but the others are starting to think there's more to you leaving than what you let on."

"I knew they'd think that at some point," Nina chuckled. "I mean, we're Sibuna. It's just how we work."

Fabian nodded, and it was silent for another moment. "What time should this happen?"

"After lights out," Nina decided. "Around eleven. We can't afford to have Victor catch us."

"Alright," Fabian smiled. "I'll be in the kitchen waiting."

Nina smiled back.

* * *

Later that night, after they ate dinner, the three samurai rangers found themselves getting ready to head to Anubis house. Nina had explained to them the plan she and Fabian had discussed and what they were going to do. Emily and Mike didn't believe her when she talked about the tunnels underneath Anubis house. They ended up walking to the house, making sure that they didn't get there too early. Nina kept an eye on her watch to make sure that they wouldn't wake up any of her former housemate.

When they got to the house, Fabian met them at the door and let them inside. The house was quiet as they made their way into the kitchen. Nina dug out her locket and pressed it against the secret entrance. Emily and Mike looked surprised at it when it swung open. Nina crawled in first, followed by Mike and Emily, and Fabian went last.

They ended up in the basement, and Nina and Fabian led them to the bookshelf where Nina quickly entered the code to enter the antechamber. Once again, Mike and Emily were not believing what they saw. In the antechamber, Nina and Fabian put on the amulets that Fabian had laid out. Nina handed each of her teammates one and told them to put it on. Mike and Emily did so and followed them to another bookshelf, where Fabian pulled a book and they spun into the tunnels.

The four stood in a line as a light began to scan over them. The light stopped when it reached the amulets. "Freaky," Mike muttered.

"So these are the tunnels?" Emily asked as Nina and Fabian led them to the hopscotch task.

"Yeah," Nina replied. She turned to Fabian. "Did you check out the traps before hand?"

"We should be clear until we reach the Senet board," Fabian replied. "I reached it and didn't want to see if that trap had reset or not."

"We'll worry about that when we get there," Nina sighed as they safely walked across the hopscotch board. They reached the pit and the beam was still set for them to walk across.

Mike saw the giant gap and became very nervous. "Just out of curiosity, how deep is this thing?" Nina and Fabian shared a look.

"Bottomless," they replied. In all honesty, they didn't know if it was. It seemed so deep that they decided it had to be bottomless.

"Oh," Mike nodded. "Okay then." Nina took a deep breath before walking across it, happy that the blades didn't start swinging out. Emily made the attempt next. Mike followed, leaving Fabian to get across last. Once he made it, they proceeded to heard toward the spider. That was an easy walk through, considering the door to the other room was still open and they didn't have to watch out for webs.

Getting through the chemical mixing part was just as easy, and they passed through the horns with ease. When they got to the task where they needed the reflectors, they were happy to see that they didn't need to go through it again. That just left them to head toward the Senet board. Fabian and Nina paused in front of it, both tensing up a bit and wondering if they were going to actually have to play it or not.

From her memory, Nina began reciting the riddle. "The Golden prize will tempt the fool. The wise should heed this golden rule. This game of Senet you cannot win. Only the wreckless will even begin. One wrong move will seal your fate. An end too dark to contemplate."

"My warnings ignored now come the costs," Fabian recited the one he recalled from after Nina fell through the board. "Continue the task and all will be lost. But if fallen friends you wish to reclaim, you have no choice but to finish the game."

Mike and Emily looked confused as Nina and Fabian just stared at the board. They were wondering why the two had spoken those riddles and what exactly it meant. "Should we just try to walk across and see what happens, or not even risk it?" Fabian wondered.

"I'll walk across, and if nothing happens, then it's safe," Nina sighed. "At least if we have to play it again, you know how to."

"Are you sure?" Fabian didn't like that idea. He didn't want to see Nina fall again and then have no way to get her out. Nina nodded and took a deep breath before stepping onto the board. After a few steps, she paused, waiting to see if the statues would move. When they didn't, she let out a breath of relief and continued across the board. She safely made it to the other side and motioned for the others to follow.

Fabian led Mike and Emily across the board and they joined Nina on the other side. Nina smiled as she started at the hollowed out space in the wall where she had hidden the cup and elixir. She pressed her locket against the wall and a piece of it slid back, allowing her to get the cup and elixir.

"Was that always there?" Fabian frowned, not recalling it.

"I found it when I was looking for a place to hide these," Nina nodded. "We missed it the first time around because we were busy with finding the right mask. Now let's get out of here before something bad happens."

"I agree," Mike voiced his agreement. There weren't many things that scared him, but these tunnels were starting to become something he was afraid of.

* * *

"Thanks for the help Fabian," Nina smiled at him as she locked the oven door. Mike and Emily had headed outside to wait for her, wanting to get fresh air. Emily had dragged Mike out there, knowing Nina would want to speak to Fabian privately before they had to leave. "I owe you one."

"No you don't, Nina," Fabian shook his head. "You don't owe me anything. And I promise I won't tell anyone about you being a power ranger."

"Thank you," she sighed. She had the cup and elixir hidden in her bag. "I'm really gonna miss this place."

"There's always next school year, isn't there?" Fabian hoped. "I mean, if you defeat these things by the next school year, you'll come back, right?"

Nina bit her lip. "I hope so. But it'll also depend on how my Gran is doing, and when this thing gets over. I can't promise I will be back for the next school year, but I do promise that when this is over, I'll come find you again one way or another."

"I hope you do," Fabian smiled a bit.

Nina smiled back and kissed him on the lips for a moment before leaving the house. Fabian looked pleasantly surprised and a goofy grin came across his face.

Maybe things would work out after all.

* * *

A/N: Probably the longest HOA based chapter in this story. What'll happen next? Unsure if it's gonna be a filler or back on a samurai episode.

What did you think I was gonna do when Fabian and Nina departed? I just can't seem to see how they will be able to leave each other like that without one last kiss.

A couple of things:

1: I am planning to do a rewrite of my "Daughter of Legends" series. I will keep that series up for a while, until I get the whole rewritten series done. The rewritten series will be different, and it will start off in the Ninja Storm season going up to RPM (as if it's set in the future), skipping Samurai, but it will feature samurai characters. Not sure when I will get around to this, but I will eventually do so.

2: If I were to write a Pretty Little Liars and Glee crossover, would you read it?

Thanks to all you readers and reviewers!


	19. Nina's Story

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 19: Nina's Story**

_A/N: Last time, Nina got the Cup back with Fabian's help. Emily and Mike went with her to England to help get it back. No one but Fabian and Eddie knew the samurai rangers were there. Nina had yet to explain the importance of the cup and how she knew about it. What will she tell the others about it now that they're back home? _

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

The flight back to Panorama City had been just as long as it was going to England. At least it had felt that way to Nina. As much as she liked being back in her home town, she didn't want to leave England again. It was difficult for her to do so, especially after seeing Fabian again. She wasn't sure if it hurt more leaving the first time or leaving the second time. When they had gotten back to the Shiba house, it was pretty early in the morning.

Nina hadn't bothered to hide the cup right away when she got back. She had decided to wait until after she had gotten a little rest. The dirty blonde knew she would have a lot of explaining to do when it came to what the Cup was and more about being the Chosen One. She had wanted to have a bit of time to organize her thoughts as well so she could tell it clearly.

By the time she had gotten up again, she noticed that everyone was eating breakfast and all ready for the day. She mumbled hellos to everyone as she moved to grab her breakfast, still feeling very tired from the previous day. Being jet lagged didn't help at all. After breakfast, they had all moved to the common room so Nina could explain what the big deal about the cup was. She had gone to grab the cup and the elixir and placed them on the coffee table for them all to see and prove that she wasn't lying. After taking a seat, she took a deep breath and began the story.

"I went to a boarding school in England for the past couple of terms," she started. "The day I first got there on my first term was the same day a girl named Joy left the school, unannounced. I had no idea who she was, and my housemates had no idea why she went missing. My first day of school, I ran into an old woman by the name of Sarah Frobisher-Smythe, who used to live in Anubis house. She gave me this locket," she brought out her locket, holding it out for them all to see. "The Eye of Horus. As far as I know, only I can unlock its powers.

"After she gave me the locket, I had to go through some made up 'initiation' to prove I was worthy or something to stay in the house. I had to go into the attic and bring something down from it to prove I was there. The attic and basement were off limits to students. When I was up there, the locket opened up a wall, where there was a picture of a young Sarah. I later learned that it would lead to finding out about the Cup of Ankh, but that was much later.

"The next morning, I told Fabian, one of my housemates, and the guy you two met that helped us," Nina pointed to Mike and Emily. "And he believed me. He went up into the attic with me later that day and we looked at the picture, finding a message written in hieroglyphics on the back. We translated it to mean 'underneath the eight stair,' which meant the steps on a staircase. I took apart that step and found a key.

"The key opened one of the boxes in the attic that Fabian and I had found. It contained phonographic cylinders and a puzzle box. We managed to listen to the cylinders, and it was things that Sarah had recorded, almost like a diary. The puzzle box," Nina pointed to the pieces it was on the Cup in front of them. "Could only be opened by a combination. However, we didn't need that combination as Fabian had accidentally dropped it and we managed to open it up.

"The clues all contained riddles of some sort. The one in the puzzle box read 'when daytime ends at midday through tears of glass, the eye shall see.' By now, Amber, my roommate, had joined us to help look for the Cup. Fabian and I figured out that the riddle meant the chandelier that was hanging in the front hall of the house. We adjusted it so the sun would shine through it. It glowed green and showed a hidden panel in the wall, which could only be opened with my locket. This piece," she pointed to the longest piece on the cup. "Was found."

She took a breath before continuing. "We learned that the next riddle was found inside that piece. It said 'Ket is the place to find and there in the flames you must look behind.' Ket means place of fire in Egyptian, and we figured it out to be the oven."

"The one we crawled through?" Emily interrupted. Nina nodded.

"It was opened by my locket, and it gave us a way into the cellar. There, we found a tethering ring that had numbers on the inside. The most common numbers on it were one, nine, and two, the two being used twice. They formed the year 1922, which was the same year the house was named Anubis. It lead us to the next clue that said 'beleathered and clasped the one place where yesterday always follows tomorrow.'

"We found the dictionary we were looking for in the library, and it had a hollowed out space inside. It was a leather Arabic dictionary with a clasp on it. The invisible ink was revealed when we shined a flashlight on it and learned the next riddle. 'Under the Eyes of Horus a globe and hollow lie, two right for eternity, and just one left to die.' The staircase railing had the Eye of Horus pattern, and the handles on the staircase were the globes we were looking for. We found the ankh piece in the handle. Victor, the caretaker, confiscated it from us. We eventually got that and the matching piece back, revealing the riddle 'my father's father stands tall, his face and hands together turn circles around Isis and Osiris and Horus the son reveals me.'

"By this point, Patricia had joined us. She was fooled by a fake private investigator by the name of Rufus Zeno, his alias being Rene Zeldeman. We found out he was after the cup and elixir as well, and Patricia joined us to help stop that from happening. The riddle referred to the grandfather clock in the house. With the two matching pieces in our hands, we entered the codes into them, and the message 'awaken the voice' was written on the wall.

"This brought us back to the phonographic cylinders. One of them had nothing on it, and we discovered that was because there was a clue hidden inside. 'To find the secrets of the past, look beyond this world through glass.' This was found on the lens of a telescope in the house when it was focused to a certain point. That gave us our next riddle. 'Unleash the power, light your way. Find the demisphere hidden below.'

"Once again, we were brought to the chandelier. The next puzzle was hidden in the base of it, which I dug out when I opened it. When the piece was opened, it forms the bowl part of the Cup. A paper came with it, reading 'inside the core of my enemy's pride is where the final relic hides.' The enemy was Victor, and his pride and joy was this stuffed bird named Corbierre. By removing his head, we were able to get the last piece.

"After a lot of complications and through some digging, we discovered that I was the true Chosen One because I was born on the seventh day of the seventh month at the seventh hour. Joy was thought to be the Chosen One, but they were wrong. The Cup of Ankh was forged by the Egyptian god Anubis, but the high priestess Amneris stole it from him. Anubis broke the cup into seven pieces, rendering the powers of it useless until it was restored. It can only be restored on the chosen hour of the chosen day that comes once every twenty five years. If someone drinks the Elixir of Life from the Cup, they become immortal, but someone else dies. The people who could possibly die were somehow predetermined, are known as the Seven Acolytes."

It was silent for a moment. No one knew what to say. This prompted Nina to continue on to the mission for the mask.

"The next term started off normally. When we were all having a midnight party in the attic, we found an old dollhouse, which later became very helpful. There was also a doll that played a riddle. It said 'An athenaeum is the place to look; lift the wings to find the book. Hidden in this book of old: water of life and tears of gold.' This set us off on the mission to find the Mask of Anubis, which was a whole other issue that nearly cost us our lives."

"So you've nearly died just because it's your job to find mythical Egyptian artifacts?" Kevin summarized. Nina nodded.

From there, she continued the tale of how she found the Mask of Anubis. She started off from what happened when the spirit, Senkhara, appeared and marked her with the mark of Anubis and how that had put her life in danger. She explained about the different clues that led to the mask, and talked about the tunnels and tasks they had to endure. The dirty blonde spoke of how Rufus returned, despite faking his death. She briefly mentioned that her gran was their timepiece, her life showing how much time they had left when they were searching for it. When she came to the part where she nearly gave up her life and Senkhara had possessed her, Jayden went a bit tense. He knew it was because if that had not been stopped by Eddie and Rufus, then his sister would've been lost forever.

Once again, when she finished, no one knew what to say. They all had questions, but they were unsure how to ask them. They also tried to let their minds take the information in. This all seemed unbelievable, but with pictures Mike had taken of the tunnels when he and Emily had helped Nina, they started to believe it a bit more.

"So this is all real?" Mia raised an eyebrow. "We're not imagining this?"

"Nope," Nina shook her head.

"But why are the Nighlok after this stuff?" Mike questioned.

Nina sighed. "Like I said earlier, they want the cup and the elixir of life. If they got their hands on both, and Master Xandred drank the elixir from the cup, then we'd be fighting this war forever and it'd never end because he'd be immortal."

"Would it even work on a Nighlok?" Kevin wondered.

"Do you wanna take the risk to find out?" Nina retorted.

"But this is all over now, and these things are safe?" Ji asked.

"As far as I know, they are," Nina confirmed. "The Cup and Elixir are here and should be well protected here. The Mask is on display in some museum, and that can't be activated without the third eye, which is a gem back at the school."

* * *

Later that night, Jayden was sitting in his room, still contemplating what Nina had revealed to them. It was a lot to take in, and he was mad he didn't stay in better touch with her to learn this stuff and learn that she could've died. Hearing that made fear that it could happen again, and he didn't want to know if it could happen. Of course, with their jobs as rangers, death was always a possibility. There was no doubt about that, but no past ranger, aside from their parents, had died in battle. Death was rare for a ranger in battle.

Nina knocked on the door to his room, figuring that he would want to talk to her privately. "You okay?" she asked, stepping inside.

"Yeah," he nodded. She walked further in, shutting the door behind her. "Why didn't you ever mention this in any of your letters?"

"Because you would've freaked out and probably not focused on your training like Ji wanted you to," Nina stated. "And it all worked out in the end, didn't it? I mean, I'm still alive, and now we're fighting the Nighlok…"

"But even when you came back, you could've mentioned it to me," Jayden argued.

Nina bit her lip. "I figured, at the time, that the less people who knew, the better. Apparently that didn't work out too well. But you can't change the past." She blinked, realizing what she had just said. "God I need to stop quoting Gran."

"Yeah, you do," Jayden let out a small chuckle. "It's just…hearing that you almost died and I didn't know it that bothers me. If you had died, then I would only have memories of you as a three year old kid."

"You remember things from when you were five?" Nina raised an eyebrow. Jayden nodded.

"One of my favorite memories is that not long before mom and dad's final fight, you came to me because you had a nightmare," Jayden revealed. "You said it was about an old woman talking about some elixir. You seemed really freaked out about, and you calmed down after I told you to wish it away."

"I remember that, vaguely," she nodded. "I don't remember much from when I was that young, but that's one of the few things I did remember. I also remember thinking that it worked."

"Hey, you were three," Jayden laughed. "You believed anything anyone told you. We used to convince you that you could fly, and you'd try every day to fly."

Nina frowned. "When was that?"

"Probably a couple weeks before your third birthday," Jayden shrugged.

"Yeah, well now I know better," Nina rolled her eyes. "But the past is in the past and can't be changed. I'm still alive, and as far as I know, the only thing I have to do is help in taking down the Nighlok."

Jayden nodded, realizing she was right.

* * *

A/N: So up next will be "Unexpected Arrival." Nina and Jayden had a bonding moment. Nina told the others about what happened at her old school. What'll happen next time?


	20. The Orange and the Gold

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 20: The Orange and the Gold**

_A/N: So last time, Nina told her story of Anubis House to her teammates. The cup is safely with Nina. She has the elixir as well. The others are having a hard time believing what Nina said about the cup and elixir and mask, but they figure it's probably true. I know I skipped a couple of episodes, but I just wanted to get to this one. I feel the other two are kind of…meh…and I want to try and do this episode for once. So what'll happen now? Also, now that Fabian figured out Nina's secret, there won't be as many HOA based chapters. There will probably be one every couple of chapters, starting with this one. So Chapter 22 should be the next HOA based one. _

_Also, I plan for this story to have exactly forty chapters (more so ranger based episodes than HOA ones) and that is only because there are forty episodes of the samurai season total. These next twenty chapters after this will include HOA views in Ranger based chapters. I won't be doing the specials (RPM team up, Christmas episodes, Halloween episode). So a list of the rest of the chapters I plan will be at the end. There will be one chapter after chapter 40 as an epilogue, showing Nina staying at her real home and then going on to explain about the future._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

A week later, after Nina had told her story, the rangers were back on their regular training schedule. They were still taking in what Nina had told them about the Cup of Ankh and what its purpose was, most of it seeming unbelievable. On this new day, it wasn't long after breakfast that the gap sensor had gone off. All six of them had gone off to check it out, finding nothing there but the sensor. They figured it was just a glitch and headed back. Ji was surprised to see them return to soon.

After explaining it was nothing, they found an arrow stuck to the house with a fishy scent and a strange message. Jayden had become paranoid about something following him and no one else could tell. When everyone but Jayden had gone back to the gap sensor to see what it was that made it have problems. While there, they found a fisherman that had sent the arrow at them and then run off.

In the battle, they found him again, but this time, as a gold ranger. He had shown up, none of them knowing who he was. He had morphed and taken out the Nighlok, including when it was in its second form. After the fight, the other six rangers had found him in a field and told him to start talking. It wasn't until he dropped the morph and looked at Jayden that the red ranger recognized him as his childhood friend Antonio Garcia.

The next day, Antonio had pleaded his case as to why he should join the team, which, while Mia and Emily and Mike were in favor, the other three were a bit skeptical. Nina didn't really mind, but she was just worried what having someone else on the team would do. While she agreed the extra help couldn't hurt, she knew that there was many more ways that it could go wrong.

By the end of the day, however, the skeptical three were outvoted and Antonio was allowed to stay, Mia having talked some sense into Jayden. He was welcomed with open arms, but the others were allowed to be skeptical. They weren't sure how to feel, but they were glad for the help. Antonio had proved he was a good asset to the team, but Nina still wasn't so sure. It was possible that old fears about more people knowing about things could get them hurt, or it could be the opposite.

It had been a full week since Antonio joined the team as the seventh samurai ranger. The rangers were all gathered around the living room, sitting around the table and peering into a bucket of water that held a moving zord. "Behold," Antonio began. "This is our new and improved friend, the Clawzord."

"Where did you get this?" Jayden grinned, amazed at what his friend could do.

"The Clawzord was battle damaged years ago, so I hid it away," Ji stated.

"Mentor asked me to perform a bit of my tech wiz magic," Antonio added. Jayden frowned and looked up at Ji.

"I wanted to see if he could actually do it," the man answered.

Antonio continued. "It's pretty simple. If I text over some samurai power symbols to reprogram him, Clawzord will be back in business.

"So you've been using the electronic symbols?" Mia wondered.

"Welcome to the twenty first century," Antonio nodded.

"Impressive," Nina muttered, not really paying attention.

"It's the work of a computer nerd," Kevin agreed. "Not a samurai." Like Nina, he still wasn't exactly on board with Antonio being on the team.

Antonio's smile fell. "Look, I know I wasn't born into the samurai life like you guys, but I'm trying to help in my own way."

"Kevin, we've already accepted Antonio into the team," Mia reminded him. "Remember?"

"I said I'd give him a chance," Kevin stood. "But being a true samurai involves much more than pressing some buttons." He walked out of the room. None of them had noticed Nina leave as well.

* * *

"Sweet moves," Emily commented as she, Mia, and Mike found Antonio by the docks. They figured he would be here, considering he was a fisherman, after all. They found him practicing his moves with a fishing pole, pretending it was a sword. "So how are you doing?" Antonio stopped his actions and faced them.

"So Kevin was too busy to come along?" Antonio assumed, noting how it was just the three of them. "I guess he only hangs with real samurai."

"Actually, he was just voicing Nina's thoughts," Mia bit her lip. Nina had confessed to the two girls earlier that Kevin had said what she wanted to, and that Kevin had already accepted Antonio on the team. Mia and Emily thought she was covering for Kevin at first, but the look in her eyes told them otherwise. Both girls had noticed Nina didn't seem the same since they got back from England. "We think she might be trying to hold on to the traditions she grew up with."

"So she can't accept me because I don't do things old school?" Antonio huffed. He couldn't understand why Nina would say something like this, it not seeming like something she would do. "I've proven myself in battle."

"Plus you found a way to fix the Clawzord," Emily pointed out.

"It's possible she just wants you to be more serious about things,' Mike shrugged. "Though it wouldn't really make sense coming from her. Then again, she does eat, drink, and sleep being a samurai."

The girls rolled their eyes as Antonio became lost in thought.

* * *

Nina hadn't lied when she told Mia and Emily that Kevin had no problem with Antonio and that he was only voicing her thoughts. She liked Antonio, but she was still very leery about having him on the team. She was pretty sure by now that her reasoning had nothing to do with him not being old school, how the others might think it was. She knew something was off, ever since she had gotten back from the trip to England. She just couldn't figure out what it was.

By nightfall, she had gotten some more training in, managing to avoid everyone, even at dinner. They had all noticed a change in her, but no one wanted to question what it was, fear of her not answering and them not being able to help. Jayden figured he had some idea what it was about, but he didn't want to say anything in front of the others. He had decided to talk to her about it later, but she had fallen asleep before he could.

The next morning, Nina had gotten up early and decided to go for a jog, something she hadn't done since before she moved to Anubis house. She took a familiar path in the woods, one that led to an old well that she and her gran used to have picnics by. By now, the well was run down and old, but it was still a soothing sight for the orange ranger. She had the sense someone was following her, but didn't stop to turn and see who.

She stopped when she heard a strange laughing sound, looking up into the sky. "Did you hear that, Antonio?" she asked, calling out to the person she knew was following her.

"Yeah, I did," Antonio replied, right before mentally cursing himself for falling for it. He walked over to her. "Wait…you knew I was watching you?"

"Since last night," she answered, keeping her focus on the sky. "Come on. We gotta check out this weird laughter." She took off again, Antonio following her and trying to catch up. "So why the spy cams?"

"How did you…" Antonio breathed. "I just wanted to see what a true samurai does."

Nina rolled her eyes. "Look, I get that you're trying to do the right thing and learn more about being a true samurai, but setting up spy cameras isn't going to help. My reason for not exactly wanting you on the team has nothing to do with you being a true samurai or not, or even whether you were born into it or not." She continued on, Antonio pausing to frown and take that in. Then he began catching up to her again.

* * *

Nina and Antonio found themselves hiding behind a giant rock, listening in on a conversation the Nighlok were having. They were making sure to stay as quiet as possible so they wouldn't interrupt the Nighlok and so they could hear the plan. Nina knew they were by the well, and from the sound of it, the Nighlok were planning to do something with it. "They're making kids cry by stealing their toys," Antonio whispered.

"We have to stop the river from rising and fill in that well," Nina nodded. She dug out her samurizer. "I'm calling Jayden." She pushed a button, and nothing could be heard. "Something must be blocking the signal." Antonio tried his and got the same thing.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" they heard the voice of one of the Nighloks, Octoroo, speak. The two stepped out before ducking back behind the rock as they were fired at.

"Go go samurai!" Nina shouted, morphing.

"Samurai morpher, gold power!" Antonio followed. The two stood in front of the Nighlok, morphed and ready for a fight.

Octoroo looked at them. "I'm sorta impressed. You found this place even with my secret barriers up."

"Barriers?" Antonio looked to Nina. "That's what jammed our signals."

"Who are you?" Nina glared at the Nighlok. "You're not just any Nighlok."

"Ooh ah ooh, I'm Octoroo," the squid replied. "The brains behind Master Xandred and the one who will finally destroy you. Ready, Antberry?"

"Time to enjoy my new toy," the other Nighlok monster stepped forward. Antonio and Nina charged at him, only to be stopped by the Nighlok's slime covering them. They had trouble staying on their feet and holding their swords. "Your weapons are worthless, like you!" Antberry charged the two, and the rangers decided to go at it without their swords.

Every time they tried to grab a hold on the Nighlok, they would slip off. Nina aimed a punch at the Nighlok's back only to stumble forward past him and get whacked pretty hard on her upper arm. She hit the ground and Antonio attacked the Nighlok, only for the monster to slip away. Octoroo stepped up and shot the rangers away, sending them far back and out of range.

* * *

When they landed, Nina and Antonio hid behind another giant rock. They knew moogers were probably sent after them, so Nina took a peek and saw some run by. She took another seat next to Antonio, nursing her arm. The Nighlok had done more damage to it than she thought, but she had other things to worry about. Antonio had dug out a cloth and was wrapping it around his wrist. "Still no signal," Nina grumbled as she tried calling the others.

"We have to hurry back and stop them," Antonio added. "Here, give me your arm." Nina sighed and showed it to him, and he transferred the makeshift sling to her arm. "You shouldn't fight with your arm like this."

"And you shouldn't fight alone," she retorted. "Isn't that the whole point of teamwork?" she stood only to be surrounded by moogers. "Great." She began fighting them off, trying to be careful with her arm injury.

Antonio saw she needed help and jumped in, especially when Nina was knocked to the ground. It didn't help that neither of them were morphed, but at the moment, they just wanted to get away from the moogers. "You would've let the others fight alone if they had to," he spoke once the moogers were gone.

"No, I wouldn't have," Nina shook her head. "I would've been the one fighting alone if anyone on this team ever did. You are a true samurai. You have the spirit."

"So then why are you against me being on the team?" Antonio frowned.

"Because the last time I did something with a team," Nina sighed. "My teammates risked their lives because mine was in danger first. I get that we all help each other out in this case, but after nearly killing all my friends at my old school and nearly getting myself killed, I've become quite leery to letting new people on any team."

"I don't get it," Antonio became even more confused.

Nina bit her lip, trying to think of an easier way to explain it. "It's a very long story involving ghosts, Egyptian mythology, and curses, but to make it short, I became cursed, my friends decided to help me only to get cursed as well, and I'm still not sure if it turned out better in the long run or not. But I do accept you being on the team, and I do think you are a great asset to us. It's just going to take me longer to get used to it than the others."

"I can deal with that," Antonio nodded. "But seriously, you really shouldn't be fighting with that arm."

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll get it checked out later," she assured. "The two of us can take him on until the others get here. Still can't make contact, but Jayden's big brother instinct will kick in sooner or later and he'll find us."

"Wait," Antonio caught the wording. "Jayden is…he's your brother?"

"Yeah, why?" Nina frowned.

"He never mentioned to me he had a sister," Antonio stated.

"Before this whole ranger thing started," Nina rolled her eyes. "He was five when he last saw me. I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot me at some points. But thanks for helping me. Let's go."

The two set off walking again.

* * *

After the fight, all of the rangers headed back to the Shiba house. Nina and Antonio had used the fabric from Nina's makeshift sling to tie their swords to their hands and avoid being slimed by the Nighlok, which proved to be very helpful. Nina's prediction about the others coming to find them came true, and the orange and gold rangers managed to stop the Nighlok from destroying toys before the others joined in. When they got back, Ji had taken a look at Nina's arm and set it in a sling to help it heal. All of them were once again gathered in the living room and sitting around the table, sorting through bins of toys.

"Stealing toys from kids?" Mike sighed. "Now that's even low for Nighlok."

"Making things right is a great thing about being a samurai," Nina commented, placing another toy in a different bin. Jayden appeared in the doorway with Emily and Mia.

"It's best that we return these anonymously," he stated. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"It'll be fun to play Santa," Emily grinned.

* * *

A/N: So ending this one here. What'll happen next?

My plan for the rest of the series:

**Chapter – Episode**

21 – team spirit

22 – Tengen gate

23 – boxed in

24 – super samurai

25 – trading places

26 – filler

27 – the rescue

28 – the bullzord

29 – filler

30 – Case of the Strange Munchies

31 – trust me

32 – the master returns

33 – crack in the world

34 – stroke of fate

35 – fight fire with fire

36 – great duel

37 – evil reborn

38 – sealing symbol

39 – samurai forever

40 – filler/epilogue


	21. Team Spirit

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 21: Team Spirit**

_A/N: Last time, Antonio and Nina did a little bonding and helped stop the Nighlok from using a well to flood the earth. Nina is still getting used to Antonio being on the team, but she does accept the help he's been giving them. I am going to include HOA point of views in chapters involving rangers, whether the two sides interact or not. So what'll happen now that there's a Nighlok stealing spirits running loose?_

_Also, I know it's Emily supposed to be getting her spirit stolen, but because of something I have planned that deals with Sibuna, I have to have it be Nina whose spirit is stolen. _

_I have a poll up on my profile based on which pair of episodes I should write, since they lead into each other: Tengen Gate and Boxed In, or Broken Dreams and The Ultimate Duel. Leave a review on which pair I should do or vote in my poll. Whichever one has the highest vote by Tuesday will be the pair of episodes I write. _

_I may make this more than forty chapters so I can have rangers from other seasons appear and stuff. Just thought I would let you know. _

_Italics are dreams._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in either show. _

* * *

About a week later, most of the rangers were hiding in the house, setting up for a surprise birthday party for Emily. Nina and Antonio were on good terms with each other now, and Nina was still getting used to having him on the team. Emily had no idea the others were setting up a surprise party for her. She was confused as to why she couldn't find anyone around when she went looking for them. No one was training; no one was in the kitchen, bedrooms, or living room. It confused the yellow ranger as to why no one was around.

To the four in the room connected to the living room, they sat silent, waiting for the yellow ranger to leave. Once they heard footsteps disappearing, the four let out a sigh of relief, glad Emily hadn't decided to walk toward them. Kevin opened the door and peeked his head out, making sure the coast was clear. When it was, he shut the door and turned back to the others. "This is gonna be tough to pull off," Kevin sighed.

"Have a little faith, Kev," Mia advised. "Once we get this stuff ready, all we have to do is hide it."

"Which is always easier said than done," Nina commented, helping the pink ranger sort through a box of decorations.

"Tomorrow's gonna be great," Mike stepped back from the poster and looked at his masterpiece. "It's Emily's first birthday without her sister, but it's so cool we're doing something special for her." A knocking sound stopped their actions and they all turned to the door. Jayden slid it open and looked in, causing them all to let out another sigh of relief. "You should have seen your faces. It looked like Master Xandred was at the door."

"Ha ha," Kevin rolled his eyes. "We just didn't want Emily to find us."

Jayden chuckled. "The coast is clear. Emily went outside. What about the cake?"

"I've got all the ingredients for an awesome cake," Mia spoke. "I just need to make it without her noticing."

"No!" everyone shouted, Mia looked surprised.

"I mean, we don't wanna risk it," Kevin quickly covered up.

"Besides," Nina added. "Antonio already ordered the cake from the bakery."

"Oh," Mia smiled. "Okay."

* * *

Over in England, it was another normal day for the Anubis House students. It had been almost a month since Nina had visited, and it was still only Eddie and Fabian who knew she was there. They all shrugged off Eddie's cousin visiting as something they didn't need to worry about. Most of the Sibuna members were still curious as to what really happened to cause Nina to leave, but none of them were saying anything and keeping those thoughts way in the back of their mind. Nina had been keeping in touch with them through emails, but they still felt there was something more.

It was just a normal, bright sunny day. School was over for the day, and everyone was heading back to their houses to get started on homework. With summer quickly approaching, everyone was eager for the school year to end. They still had a couple of months left to it, but they were getting by one day at a time. The group of eight Anubis House students found themselves walking as a giant group back to the house, enjoying each other's company.

It wasn't until a monster with multiple mouths making up his entire body appeared in front of them. The group of eight stopped short, all of them looking terrified. They wanted to scream, but nothing came out. They wanted to run, but their feet wouldn't move. "No need to panic," the Nighlok spoke, scaring them further. "All I want is your spirit!"

Without another word, he aimed his arm at Fabian and a giant, glowing yellow ball came out of the boy's mouth and went into the monster's hand. Fabian fell limp and unconscious as he hit the ground. The others found their voice and let out startled yelps as they stepped back so they wouldn't be hit. A couple of the girls and guys knelt down next to Fabian to check on him.

"What did you do to him?" Eddie glared at the Nighlok.

Before he could get an answer, the Nighlok left.

* * *

The rangers had heard the gap sensors go off, alerting them to a Nighlok attack in the middle of the city. As usual, they morphed on their way to the fight. Jayden had called Antonio to tell him to join them. When they got to the city, they noticed people in groups running away and screaming. The seven rangers shot back the Nighlok and stood together in their formation. "Snack time is over for you, Nighlok," Jayden began.

"The samurai rangers?" Splitface stood and faced them. Mike and Antonio drew their swords and charged. However, the Nighlok was quicker and split his body into the multiple balls that made it up and swarmed the two boys.

"It's like dodge ball with teeth," Mike commented. After knocking the boys down, he moved over to the other five. He was able to knock Mia and Jayden away first before knocking the other three. Nina was quick to recover, only to be struck down again.

"You'll make a fine dessert," the Nighlok looked at her. He outstretched his arm, the mouth on it opening to steal her spirit. Before Nina could do anything, her suit vanished and she fell limp and unconscious, her spirit going into the Nighlok.

"Nina!" The girls and Jayden shouted. Jayden angrily charged the Nighlok, only for the monster to split into pieces again. Mia ran in to help him as Emily went to check on Nina.

"Nina, are you okay?" she asked, sitting on her knees and holding Nina's head in her lap. "Wake up!"

The four boys and Mia crouched down near the Nighlok, looking ready to attack once more. The Nighlok spoke up. "I have to say it. Her spirit was delicious, just like her boyfriend's. And in twenty four hours, it'll be mine forever."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Forever?"

"Of course," the Nighlok continued. "If you defeat me, you could have all their spirits back. But you won't have the chance because I'm heading back to the netherworld where no mortal can follow."

The guys and Mia stood, the latter speaking. "Guys, we've got to stop this creep."

"All of you try to enjoy your one last day with your friend," The Nighlok smirked. "Because I'm leaving and I won't be coming back."

"No," Jayden growled. "We won't let that happen!" The four guys and Mia charged the Nighlok as he took off, hoping to get him before he vanished.

* * *

By nightfall, most of the rangers were back at the Shiba house. Jayden had been able to carry Nina back, and Ji had gotten her set up in the room they used as an infirmary. Nina was still breathing, which was a good sign. The girls sat on stools beside Nina's bed, watching her and waiting for something to happen. Mike and Kevin and Ji stood at the foot of the bed. "Fifty four people including Nina had their spirits stolen. Official hospital reports say that the patients are resting comfortably, but we know better."

"I can't believe that by tomorrow night," Kevin began. "Nina and all those people could stay asleep forever. We have to defeat that Nighlok before that happens." Jayden entered the room.

"But he said he won't leave the Netherworld," Mia reminded them. "What can we do?"

"We have to do something," Jayden stated. "No matter what it takes, we have to save her." The room fell silent, no one knowing what to say or do.

The silence was broken by the sound of a cell phone ringing. It was surprising to hear one ringing, since none of them really used their phones anymore. Ji had lifted the contact rule to no physical contact with friends and family aside from those in the house due to what happened to Mike's friends a while back. He made the rule change after realizing that letting them be able to get in touch with their families and friends would help keep suspicions off about them being rangers and realizing it was good for them all to keep their social life.

Emily, being brave, looked at Nina's cell phone on the nightstand, which was sitting next to Nina's folding zord. She saw the name flashing across the screen. "It's Eddie, my cousin."

"Should we answer it?" Mike wondered. "I mean, he does know about us, right?"

"He does," Emily nodded.

Ji sighed. "Answer it, and see what he wants. Put it on speaker." Emily nodded and answered the call, leaving the phone on the nightstand and hitting the speaker button so everyone could hear.

"Hello?" she called out.

"_Emily?" _Eddie's voice floated in, sounding confused. _"Why are you answering Nina's phone?"_

"Doesn't matter," Emily replied. "Why are you calling?"

"_One of those Nighlok things attacked Fabian," _Eddie sighed. Aside from Mike and Emily, everyone else frowned in confusion, having not met Fabian before. _"We don't know why, but we also don't know what happened."_

"He must've had his spirit stolen like Nina did," Emily realized. Everyone else remained quiet, listening to the conversation.

Eddie didn't like the sound of that. _"I knew something as wrong with Nina, which is the other reason why I'm calling."_

"How did you know something was wrong?" Emily frowned.

"_She told you about the Egyptian thing with the cup and whatnot, right?" _Eddie asked. Emily confirmed it. _"Well, I'm the Osirion, which means I'm her protector. Not sure how exactly it works out, but she's connected to me and I'm connected to her, so if one of us gets hurt or something, the other feels it." _

"She didn't tell us that part," Emily sighed.

"_Is there a way to fix this?" _Eddie wondered.

Emily bit her lip. "We're working on it." She hung up on Eddie and looked to the others, all of who wanted to find the Nighlok and destroy it even more.

* * *

By morning in England, the Anubis students were excused from having to go to school that day, after telling Trudy what had happened. They were all a bit shaken up by it, and only Eddie knew what really happened. After breakfast, the Sibuna members who could do anything met up in Patricia and Joy's room, needing to discuss this. It was clear something was going on if the school was attacked twice by the same type of creatures.

"Okay, something is definitely going on," Patricia summed up. "None of this weird stuff with those monster things started happening until after Nina left."

"Way to state the obvious," Alfie rolled his eyes.

"Maybe this has something to do with why Nina had to leave," Joy suggested. "I mean, it would kind of make sense."

Amber changed the subject a bit. "That's not all. People have been in the tunnels recently."

"How can you tell?" Alfie questioned.

"A few weeks ago, I kind of saw Fabian sneaking back into the kitchen," Amber admitted. "There were people with him, and I could hear them talking, but I couldn't tell who they were. So when I went down to look, four amulets were warm."

"Warm?" Joy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Amber nodded. "They get warm after the beacon light."

Patricia got an idea. "Does this mean we have another mystery on our hands?"

All of them looked around at each other.

"Sibuna!"

* * *

_Nina had no idea where she was or why she was where she was. All she knew was that one minute, she was fighting on the battle field with the others, and the next, she was in a strange room with at least fifty other people she didn't know. The room had no walls, and there was hardly a floor, if it could be called that. She still knew that the Nighlok had done something to her, but she wasn't sure what. She just felt…empty. _

"_Nina?" she heard someone call, and she turned around to find Fabian standing behind her. Not caring why he was here, she hugged him. Fabian returned the hug, confused like she was. "What's going on?"_

"_I don't know," she shrugged, pulling away. "My team and I were battling a Nighlok, he hit me with something, and next thing I know, I'm here." _

"_Did it have a bunch of mouths on different balls to make up its body?" Fabian wondered. _

"_Yeah," Nina frowned. "How did you know?"_

_Fabian bit his lip. "He showed up in front of us on our way back to the house. He only got me, and I don't know why he was there or why he attacked us."_

"_They shouldn't be," Nina stated. "The cup and elixir aren't there, so there's no reason why they should be attacking you guys." _

"_Any idea what happened to us?" Fabian asked._

"_None," Nina sighed. "All I know is that I feel…empty."_

* * *

The next morning, Mia had gone into the infirmary to check on Nina. She saw the girl was still out cold, but her zord seemed to be freaking out. The pink ranger wasn't sure what to do about that. She wet a facecloth in a bowl of water and squeezed it out. She dabbed it across Nina's forehead, and the girl began to stir. Emily, who was in the room with Mia, saw this as well. She called out to the others. "Nina's awake!" the two girls helped Nina sit up as the boys came in.

"Sorry guys," she apologized. She could tell she was back in the house, but it didn't feel like she was. "I let him get me."

"Don't be silly," Mike advised. "We're just glad you're okay."

"Thanks for putting on the brave face, but I know I'm not okay," Nina looked around the room. "I feel empty."

"Don't worry," Mia assured. "We'll figure it out."

"We're not gonna let you down," Jayden added. "We'll save you. Just hold on till then." Nina's only response was letting out a quiet breath before drifting back off into sleep.

Emily became worried. "She's falling back to sleep."

"Nina," Jayden shook her, becoming worried. Of course, knowing that Nina was his sister, they figured this would affect him more than everyone else. He wasted no time in getting up and running out the door, determined to find the Nighlok. Sharing a look, the other four followed him.

* * *

With the rangers out fighting and Nina still in bed being looked after by Ji, Evelyn decided this would be the best time to go visit. She had sensed something was wrong with her granddaughter, and she knew it was time to do something about it. The old woman figured something like this would happen eventually, but she was hoping it wouldn't be for a while longer.

When she approached the house, she dug out her key to it. She walked through the gate and up to the door, unlocking it with the key. She had the key in case there was ever an emergency or something important to discuss about Nina and Jayden, but she rarely used it. Knowing where her granddaughter would be, Evelyn made her way toward the infirmary. She looked inside and saw Ji sitting on the bed beside a sleeping Nina. The ocelot zord was stressing out, or so it appeared to be.

"What happened to her?"

Ji looked up and was surprised to see Evelyn there. "Evelyn, what are you doing here?"

"My granddaughter is in trouble and you expect me to sit back and do nothing?" the woman raised an eyebrow, walking in. she held her hand out for the zord, which bounced over to her. "I felt her spirit be stolen. Why do you think this little guy is freaking out?"

"What are you saying?" Ji was confused.

"Nina has more power than anyone realizes," Evelyn stated. "Including herself. She only thinks her samurai powers and being the Chosen One is all she has, but it's not."

"She has more power?" Ji raised an eyebrow. "Why weren't we told this sooner?"

Evelyn sighed. "The reason why they wanted the kids to be kept separate is so they could harness their powers separately. We Martin women have always had more power than people thought, other than just our samurai powers. Why do you think it's Lauren and Nina that are the ones who have to master the sealing symbol?"

"They have more power than Jayden does," Ji realized.

"And if Master Xandred knew about it," Evelyn continued. "It would make the situation worse."

"So what is this extra power the girls have?" the mentor asked. This was the first he was hearing of this.

"All Martin women belong to the Pai Zhuq," Evelyn sighed, looking at her granddaughter. When her granddaughters had been born, she was hoping that one of them would've been skipped over when it came to the Pai Zhuq powers. It didn't seem to be the case, since when each girl was around four, they were showing signs of having animal spirits. When Lauren was seven and showed signs of having it again, she had been sent to live near the Pai Zhuq academy to master her animal spirit and practice the sealing symbol. Nina only showed signs of it shortly after she had gone to live with her grandmother, showing that there was no escaping it.

Evelyn hadn't sent Nina to the Pai Zhuq academy because she had only shown signs of activating her animal spirit that once. She didn't think it would make much of a difference. However, she knew that it would cause a problem now, since Nina's spirit was stolen. Evelyn knew what could possibly happen if Nina got her spirit back and complications arose, and she had a plan in mind for what should happen if something happened to Nina.

"Our animal spirits are what helped us connect to our zords," Evelyn explained. "And to our other powers. For Nina, though, it was different. Her powers started off with her samurai ones, and because of her birthday, she had the powers of the Chosen One. She only showed signs of the Pai Zhuq powers once, but this could cause problems with that."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Ji looked up at the woman.

A bright light entering from the window caught their eye. They saw a ball of light float in and down into Nina, who let out a sharp gasp and sat upright. She opened her eyes and looked around, feeling much better than she had been.

"Welcome back," the two adults greeted, hugging her.

* * *

When the rangers had returned and saw Nina was okay, the orange and pink rangers took Emily out of the house for a while, letting the guys finish setting up for the party. Evelyn had left before the others got back and had managed to talk to Ji about what to do with Nina should something regarding her spirit come up. By the time night fell, Mia and Nina were dragging Emily back inside and toward the living room. "Guys, what's up?" Emily wondered. "Nina's fine now, and we're all back to normal."

"I know," Nina smiled. "But you're about to feel better." They arrived in the living room, and Emily's face lit up with a smile, seeing the decorations."

"What is all this?" she wondered.

"Surprise!" the guys jumped out. Emily laughed, shocked that they had done this. Mike handed her a card from her sister. After she read it, Antonio covered her eyes and led her toward the table.

"And what's a birthday without a cake?" he uncovered her eyes, showing her the cake that Ji had just set on the table.

Kevin frowned as he read the message on it. "Clawzord?"

"It's his birthday too," Antonio pointed out.

"You guys are the best," Emily smiled.

"Who wants cake?" Mia held up the cake knife.

"Oh, uh, you baked me a cake?" Emily questioned, trying to seem happy about it.

Mia shook her head. "No, sorry. We got this cake at the bakery."

"I understand," Emily lied. "You were busy. Let's dig in."

* * *

A/N: So here's this chapter. I just want to say that I never expected this story to have so many reviews or anything like that and such enthusiastic ones as well. Thank you!

Okay, now, onto serious stuff.

Would you guys like to see a sequel, maybe one that takes place during Megaforce where Nina becomes a ranger again? I will only do it if you guys want me to, _**and only if** _the Megaforce season is done airing soon. I mean, how long has it been since the last episode was released (I don't watch them on Saturdays, so if one aired this past Saturday, then let me know)?

Also, I couldn't not write this story without having Sibuna come together again to figure out why Nina left.

Please vote in the poll because it will help with the next two chapters in this story!


	22. The Tengen Gate

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 22: Tengen Gate**

_A/N: Before I forget to mention this again, the name of Nina's grandmother actually comes from a season 2 episode of HOA, where Nina says her grandmother's name while leaving a message at the hospital for her. Anyway, last time, Nina had her spirit stolen on Emily's birthday. Fabian's spirit was stolen as well. Nina's grandmother told Ji that Nina has more powers than she knows and that having her spirit stolen could mess that up. What'll happen with that?_

_I plan on bringing in rangers from other teams as well. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Not long after breakfast a week later, the gap sensor went off. As usual, the seven rangers rushed out to the scene, morphing along the way. As soon as they arrived, they found giant moogers terrorizing the city. There were several giant moogers and Sanzu water seemed to be seeping through. Right away, the seven rangers brought out their zords and formed the megazord. Antonio was operating the Clawzord and Octozord for this fight as the others handled their own megazord, the Battlewing attached to it.

"Whoa," Antonio looked around as they became surrounded by moogers. "Is this a mooger family reunion?"

"Antonio, focus!" Jayden admonished.

"I am," Antonio assured. "I'm gonna go for the high score." He turned to the moogers facing him. "Hey, who wants their butt kicked first?"

"Let's get to work," Jayden ordered. "Now!" The two megazords went in opposite directions to take on the moogers. More and more kept coming as more and more were knocked down. Out of nowhere, flying ones appeared.

Mike noticed this first. "Oh man! The flying ones freak me out!"

"Not a problem," Jayden brought the megazord into the sky. "It's time for these flyboys to get their wings clipped." They avoided being hit as they maneuvered through the flying enemy, striking when necessary. Antonio continued taking on the moogers on the ground. The others finally landed back on the ground to help him out.

"Megablade, activate!" they brought out the weapon. Using their final strike attack, they managed to destroy all the moogers.

"Samurai rangers, victory is ours," Jayden stated, as he did at the end of every fight.

* * *

The rangers had made the walk back to the house quicker than they usually did. Today's fight had made them realize that the Nighlok forces were improving, and that they should be doing the same thing. After getting back, they had all gone to wash up and join Ji in the living room. As usual, they sat in the chairs in a circle. "I don't know what to do," Mia spoke. "We fought so hard, but the Sanzu river keeps seeping into our world."

"I can't believe this is happening," Mike sighed.

"What else can we do?" Emily wondered. "We've beaten the Nighlok every time."

"We can't think about winning or losing," Jayden stated. "We have to believe in ourselves and keep fighting."

"Jayden's right," Kevin agreed. "We can't give up no matter what."

Ji came into the room. "I'm glad to hear that. Because I may have found something that could help us." He laid a book out on the table, open to the page he was looking at.

"The Black Box?" Nina frowned. "Ji, we can't." She and Jayden knew exactly what it was and just how powerful it could be.

"What is it?" Mia decided to question.

"A magic talisman," their mentor answered. "Created by the very first red ranger. It is said it can unite the symbol powers of all rangers into one."

"Okay, cool," Mike read the page. "So let's fire it up."

Jayden took the liberty of answering this time. "It's not as simple as that. The red ranger never finished the talisman."

"Many have tried," Ji continued. "But none have the skill and power to complete it."

"What about Antonio?" Emily suggested. "He's a tech wiz."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "I mean, the guy programmed the zord like it was a coffeemaker."

"But he doesn't have the mastery of symbol power like we do," Kevin argued. "You know how much it drains us each time we use it?"

"Kevin's right," Jayden nodded. "Trying to transfer even a few of our symbol powers into the box could destroy him. I can't ask him to do this."

Emily went on. "Jayden, none of us wanna see Antonio get hurt, but…"

"We're talking about saving the human race," Mia added.

"If he's willing, give him a shot," Nina finished the argument. Jayden thought for a moment.

"Okay."

"First," Ji explained. "You must retrieve the Black Box. For generations, it has been protected by the guardians of the Tengen Gate."

* * *

"So why did Mentor want Nina and Antonio to stay behind?" Mike wondered as he, Jayden, Kevin, Emily, and Mia all made their way toward the Tengen Gate. The gate was outside of the city, and they had traveled by foot for most of the way, since it was hidden in the middle of the woods. Ji had Nina and Antonio stay behind, and it caused the others to wonder why.

"We can't leave the city unprotected," Jayden stated, coming up with something on the spot. "And with both of them staying back, they can control both megazords if they need to instead of just having one."

"Still would've been nice for Nina to come along," Mia mused. "She seems like she's been trying to avoid us all lately."

"Even before she had her spirit stolen she was acting like that," Kevin agreed. "Do you think it had anything to do with your trip to England?"

Emily shrugged. "She never said anything. Maybe she's just feeling a bit hurt at having to say goodbye to people there again." They approached a gate with the Shiba family crest on it.

"This is the Tengen Gate?" Mike raised an eyebrow. "It's just a big wood thing."

"The Tengen Gate is an important part of ranger history, Mike," Jayden responded. They all bowed before walking through it. When they entered, they came across a statue that had writing on it. "This commemorates where the first samurai rangers battled the Nighlok army."

"They say the Sanzu river flooded the entire city," Emily recalled from stories.

"What happened?" Mike questioned.

Kevin answered. "The rangers defeated them because they never gave up. And they took their training seriously."

"They certainly did," an older gentleman approached the group. "Although the legends tell us that the green ranger was a bit of a prankster. Apparently, he drove the blue ranger crazy. But they were still the best of friends. I am Daisuke, the elder guardian." They all bowed to him. "Welcome to the Tengen Gate. Your mentor advised us that you were coming. Please," he motioned for them to head inside.

Mia, Emily, Mike, and Kevin headed off, as Jayden cast another glance at the statue.

"A penny for your thoughts, Jayden," Daisuke got his attention.

"It's nothing," the red ranger sighed.

"You and your sister haven't told them your secret, have you?" the elderly man guessed.

"They're our friends, Daisuke," Jayden replied. "We don't like lying to them, but…"

Daisuke moved and put a hand on Jayden's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jayden, but it is your responsibility to be the red ranger."

"I know," Jayden nodded, looking back to the statue. "I won't fail them."

* * *

In the morning over in England, the students of Anubis house were just waking up. Today was not a school day, and they did not want to do anything but relax. With only a couple more weeks of school, none of them could wait for summer. They all had plans that they couldn't wait to put into place. Trudy served the teens breakfast, as usual. After that, the Sibuna members, minus Fabian, had gone up to Joy and Patricia's room to talk.

"Okay, so, where do we begin?" Joy wondered.

"With this," Amber answered, holding up the letter Nina had left them the night she disappeared. "Maybe there's something in here that could help us."

"Give it here," Patricia took it. She read over it a couple of times, trying to find something. Then she flipped it over and saw websites written on the back. "Hey, there's websites on here."

Alfie pulled out his laptop. "Maybe they'll give us something."Patricia handed him the paper and he began typing away.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Patricia asked.

"No idea," Amber shrugged. "Just anything that could tell us the exact reason Nina left."

"All these are about the same thing," Alfie huffed. "Like that's gonna help."

"Well what do they say?" Joy frowned.

Alfie read the page briefly. "They're all about Power Rangers."

* * *

Nina was unsure why Ji had told her to stay behind with Antonio as the others went to go get the Black Box. Ji hadn't told her why, but she assumed it had to do with keeping the city protected. If all of them had gone, then the city wouldn't be protected. Since Ji hadn't minded what the two would do, Antonio had gone fishing, as usual. Nina was left in the house, unsure of what she should do. Ji was somewhere around, but she didn't know exactly where.

Deciding she now had quite a bit of time on her hands, she figured she would practice the sealing symbol, after checking to make sure the cup and elixir were still where they were supposed to be. After training for a little bit, she figured the others still wouldn't be back for a while. With nothing to really do, she figured she would see if she could join Antonio in his fishing trip and wrote a note for Ji, letting him know where she would be.

As she walked to the docks where she knew Antonio would be, she thought about her trip back to England. It had saddened her greatly to have to leave again, never knowing when she would see them next or if she would see them again at all. What she was doing was highly dangerous and it was possible that any one of them could die in this, but she was hoping none of them would. She also felt something was off with her ever since she had her spirit stolen. When it was gone, she had felt empty. When it returned, something about it felt off, like it had been disturbed.

The orange ranger made it to the docks faster than she thought she would, a bit surprised by that. There were quite a few fishermen here, all in their own spot doing their own thing. She didn't find Antonio, so she continued walking along a path that led off from the docks. Nina wasn't sure where she was going, but she just continued walking. Eventually, she came across Antonio walking the same path in the same direction, tugging his fishing cart along. She picked up her pace to catch up to him.

"Where did you come from?" he asked when she startled him.

"I think we both know the answer to that," she joked. She and Antonio had gotten along better over the past couple of weeks, and she was starting to get used to having him on the team. "Where are you heading?"

"Just walking around," Antonio shrugged. "You?"

"Got bored, so I figured I would find you and just hang out," she answered. "Don't know why."

Antonio rolled his eyes before spotting a guy with dark, shoulder length brown hair wearing a ragged white coat and black outfit. Antonio stopped in front of the man. Nina had no idea who this man was. "So, you've come to accept my challenge?"

"Challenge?" the guy grabbed what appeared to be some sort of sword wrapped up tightly.

"You said you would try my secret recipe," Antonio reminded the man who he had run into earlier in the week. "Baby barracuda fish kebabs. They're muy fantastico."

"I did say that," the guy frowned.

Antonio led the guy over to where Nina was now sitting with the cart. "You won't be sorry." Nina rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, trying to find any emails from her friends in England. She was constantly emailing them, replying to whatever emails they sent.

Antonio pulled out a table set up that he had been traveling with before setting up the grill and cooking the fish. Nina paid no attention to the man Antonio was cooking for. The gold ranger sat the man down at the table before getting back to cooking. After checking her emails, Nina started playing games on her phone until her samurizer went off.

"The Tengen Gate?" she confirmed, listening to Mia speak. "We're on our way!" She hung up Just as Antonio served the food. "Antonio, we got business!"

Antonio understood and the two ran off.

* * *

As they got closer to the gate, Nina and Antonio morphed, knowing they would need to give the others help. Mia had told Nina that Jayden had been poisoned by the Nighlok, causing Nina to worry a bit. As they got closer, Nina looked to the gold ranger. "You go find the others! I'll find Jayden!" Having no time to argue, Antonio nodded and took a different path to find the others. Nina kept running forward.

Mike, Mia, Emily, and Kevin were fighting in a forest of bamboo, battling moogers and waiting for the spider Nighlok to appear again. Antonio was on the hunt for the four to help them out as Nina headed for the gate, figuring her brother must still be inside. Jayden was trying to crawl away from Octoroo, who had poisoned the tea Jayden drank. The red ranger was in too much pain to walk, so crawling would have to do.

"It's a simple question red ranger," Octoroo spoke. "Just show me the sealing symbol. I'll give you the antidote. And it'll save us both a lot of grief."

"Never," Jayden spat, having turned to lie on his back.

"Huh," Octoroo huffed. "That's how you wanna play?"

Before he could do anything, a growl was heard and Octoroo was knocked back and away from Jayden. The red ranger looked up slightly to see an almost three foot long cat with dappled fur and rounded ears standing at his feet, growling at Octoroo and looking ready to attack. Jayden frowned, confused as to what this cat was doing here. It was the last thing he saw before passing out.

"Stupid cat," Octoroo grumbled. He was about to attack, but the cat was quicker and attacked him first. Neither noticed Dekker hiding behind a pillar and watching the fight. Octoroo fired at the cat and the cat went flying back, landing near Jayden. It got up quickly, not willing to give up. Before it could do anything, Octoroo had it wrapped up in slimy tentacles and sent shockwaves to it, slamming it around. With each hit, the giant cat cried out in pain. Using it's claws, it cut itself free.

Octoroo dropped the tentacles and the cat charged. The Nighlok tried to throw it off track, but something else caught it's attention. Instead of attacking Octoroo, it faced Dekker, who now made his presence known.

"Relax," Dekker spoke to it, before transforming into his Nighlok form. "I'll take care of the red ranger from here." The cat growled and charged it just as Dekker picked Jayden up over his shoulder. Dekker jumped out of the way and fled before the cat could make contact, and Octoroo got a hit in from behind. The cat cried out loudly in pain, before collapsing on the ground, finding it hard to move.

"Dekker spoils everything," the squid huffed. "I'm outta here." He fled the scene just as Antonio arrived on it.

"What the…" the gold ranger looked around, only seeing the cat. He ran over to it and knelt down, seeing Nina's ocelot zord running around it worriedly. The cat, which looked a lot like the realistic version of Nina's zord, looked up at Antonio, whimpering and with pleading eyes. Antonio dropped his morph, confused as to what was going on, but knowing whatever this ocelot was was going to need help.

With a sigh, he pulled out his samurizer. "Mentor, we may have a problem…"

* * *

A/N: That's that. What'll happen next? Jayden got kidnapped by Dekker. An ocelot appeared out of nowhere instead of Nina to defend Jayden, only to get hurt badly. The others were badly injured while trying to find the black box. What's gonna happen next?


	23. Boxed In

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 23: Boxed In**

_A/N: Last time, the rangers realized the Nighlok were getting stronger, causing them to go find a way to even the odds. Nina and Antonio stayed behind to protect the city just in case as Mia, Emily, Jayden, Kevin, and Mike went to retrieve the black box. Nina was feeling weird since her spirit had been returned. She and Antonio went to help the others. Antonio helped the other four as Nina went to help Jayden, only an ocelot took her place. Antonio found the injured feline and knew there was something about it that they had to handle. What'll happen now?_

_I also apologize if this chapter isn't the best._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Getting the four rangers and a giant cat home was not an easy task. Ji had gone to help Antonio with it, and they used a little help from symbol power to get them back to the Shiba house. Ji had a pretty good idea of who the ocelot was, but had yet to voice his thoughts. He and Antonio set Kevin, Emily, Mia, and Mike up in the infirmary. They found a spot to make comfortable for the ocelot as well, which was still awake but injured. Mike was the only one sitting up, staring wide eyed in terror and confusion at the ocelot.

"Boy," Antonio sighed from where he and Ji stood in the doorway. "Man, they're pretty banged up after that run-in with Arachnitor, huh?"

"Yes," Ji agreed. "Now that the Sanzu River is seeping into our world, the Nighlok are getting stronger. Soon they will be too powerful for even our team to stop. It's crucial that you fill this Black Box with all the rangers' symbol powers"

"Once we rescue Jayden, he and I will get it running in no time," Antonio assured.

Ji turned to the gold ranger. "Antonio, you must focus on the job at hand."

"But Jayden is out there," Antonio stated.

"Jayden would be the first to tell you the Black Box is the priority," Ji held it out to him. Antonio took the box and opened it.

"But even the original red ranger couldn't finish this," he scoffed.

"Your lack of formal symbol power training will make this very difficult, but you did build your own samurai morpher."

"This is the ultimate hack job," Antonio examined it as he took a seat in the living room. "My kind of challenge."

Ji nodded. "I have faith that your high tech skills will enable you to succeed where others have failed."

"All right," Antonio complied. "I'm on it. With the others down, I know I have to pick up the slack."

* * *

In the infirmary, Kevin had joined Mike in sitting up, nursing his own injuries. He paid no attention to the ocelot in the room, having yet to notice it. Mike, however, was still staring at it. They had all heard the conversation between the gold ranger and their mentor. Kevin, decided to do something, threw the covers of the bed off of him and sat up, his feet touching the floor. "There's no time to rest. It's our sworn duty to keep the world safe." He attempted to stand. "We're samurai. Nothing can stop us."

"Kevin!" Emily gasped as the blue ranger tried walking, only to fall a bit. With a sigh, he got back into the bed and rested a bit.

* * *

"Anyone notice the giant cat that looks kinda like Nina's zord?" Mike finally asked, breaking the silence that had once more covered the room. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of the ocelot since he got up, and just now he was able to voice his thoughts. With groans, Kevin, Mia, and Emily attempted to sit up, turning their eyes to where Mike had his.

"That wasn't here before, was it?" Mia questioned.

"It's been there since I woke up an hour ago, at least," Mike answered.

Emily frowned. "Where's Nina? Shouldn't she be here?" Upon hearing her name, the ocelot sat up, looking at Emily. "Um…"

"I don't remember seeing this before we got back here," Kevin recalled. "I don't remember seeing Nina since we left for the gate."

"She and Antonio did get the call, so she must've been helping Jayden out while Antonio helped us," Mia mused.

"Hey, check it out," Emily drew their attention back to the ocelot. "Nina's zord…it seems like it's talking to her."

"Maybe it is," Kevin realized. "Maybe, because they're the same animal, they can communicate."

Mike saw the other zords moving toward the two. "What are they doing? It's like they all know something we don't."

"I've always kinda figured the zords knew more than us," Mia shrugged. "I mean, they've been through this before."

"I still want to know where Nina is," Emily sighed. "I mean, it's bad enough Jayden's missing, but Nina should at least be here."

"She is," Ji answered, appearing in the doorway. They all turned to him in askance, silently wondering what he knew. "She's right there," he pointed to the ocelot."

"What?" Mike blinked. "No way."

Kevin nodded his agreement. "How?"

"When Nina had her spirit stolen," Ji began explaining. "Her grandmother told me about something all Martin women are a part of. Every woman in Nina's family on her mother's side have been and still are a part of an academy known as the Pai Zhuq. They deal with animal spirits and train people in the art of kung-fu."

"Where does Nina tie into it?" Mia wondered.

"Since her animal spirit was unleashed once when she was a young girl," Ji continued. "She has been a part of the Pai Zhuq. She never trained there, nor has she ever known about it. Her grandmother figured that maybe it skipped a generation since Nina only showed signs of having an animal spirit once. Having her spirit stolen helped bring that out, which explained why her zord was acting strange."

"So she turned into the same animal her zord is," Emily summed up. "Just because it's her animal spirit and she belongs to an academy that trains in kung-fu and animal spirits?"

"Yes," Ji stated. "I just got off the phone with an acquaintance of mine who is a Pai Zhuq master and had his own team of rangers. He is going to help me return Nina back to normal. We have to leave right away, since he lives in Ocean Bluff."

They all turned to stare at Nina, who looked back at them, confused.

* * *

Getting Nina to Ocean Bluff was not an easy task. Ji had Antonio take a break from working on the black box to help him get Nina into the back of a van, conjured up with some symbol power. Nina sat comfortably and the car ride unsettled her a bit. Ji tried his best to get to Ocean Bluff as fast as he could without breaking any laws. When he arrived in the city, it took him a while to find the pizza parlor that he was instructed to go to.

After arriving there, he parked the van in the back and saw a tall man with shoulder length brunette hair wearing purple, waiting for them. He saw them arrive and headed over. Ji got out and greeted RJ, who he had met a couple times before. The older man opened the back doors of the van, and Nina looked up at the two, confused.

RJ stated that it would be better for them to move her upstairs, and Nina hopped out, following them. Despite being in a different form, she could still understand others. RJ led the two into the restaurant through the back door and up the stairs into the loft. The Jungle Fury rangers were working, and RJ's wife was out of town for a few days, visiting friends in her home town.

"So what happened?" RJ questioned as he motioned for Nina to get up on a table. Nina sat up on it, watching the two men converse.

"I'm not entirely sure," Ji sighed. "She and the gold ranger went to assist the others. She went to help her brother, and according to our gold ranger, he found her like this."

"Well, this looks like a perfect learning opportunity for the cubs," RJ realized. They may be masters, but they were still cubs to him, since he had mentored them. "Excuse me for a moment." He left the room, heading downstairs toward the kitchen. Ji waited for him to return, and Nina laid down on the table, stretching out a bit.

* * *

When RJ returned, three people were behind him. Theo, Lily, and Casey entered the loft, following their boss. They were confused as to why RJ had brought them up here. The three former rangers slowed themselves down as they approached the giant cat, who was looking up at them. They had seen this once before when it happened to RJ during their time as rangers. However, this animal was not trying to attack them and didn't appear like it wanted to.

"What's going on, RJ?" Casey asked as they approached the ocelot. Lily, feeling brave, knelt down in front of the giant cat, kneeling near its face, looking into its eyes. To Lily, it looked like the animal was tame and just lost.

"Something similar to the time I lost control of my animal spirit," RJ explained. "Though this spirit wasn't injured."

"It was stolen," Ji spoke. "A Nighlok went around stealing people's spirits last week, and Nina's was one of them. I'm assuming this happened because of her spirit being returned, but I'm not sure on what to do about it."

Lily noticed a strange necklace shaped like an eye around the ocelot's neck. Placing a hand on the table, she shifted and reached for the necklace. The ocelot set a paw on Lily's hand as the blonde gently held the necklace in her hand. "I've seen this before," she muttered.

"Seen what?" Theo frowned.

"This necklace," Lily looked at it further. "It's the Eye of Horus, and legends say it belongs to someone known as the Chosen One."

"That's because she is," Ji confirmed.

"This is Nina?" Lily looked up at the older man, who nodded.

"Wait, you know this?" Casey looked at his fiancé.

Lily nodded. "Nina's my younger cousin. We didn't see each other much growing up, but I saw her over the last summer and she told me about this necklace. Her mom and my mom are sisters, which is why we have different last names. Every woman on our moms' side of the family belongs to the Pai Zhuq."

"Is there a way to reverse this?" Ji questioned.

"I'm sure we can find one," RJ assured.

* * *

A while later, RJ and the other Jungle Fury rangers had come up with a solution for what they should do to get Nina back to normal. Lily would keep the ocelot calm, making sure she didn't lash out at the guys when they tried to help her. All Ji could do was sit back and watch and hope this would work. Nina set a paw on Lily's hand, looking into the blonde's eyes.

"This might be a bit tricky," RJ warned. "It could also take a lot of time, depending on how quickly her mind works."

"But it will work, right?" Ji raised an eyebrow as a bowl of water was set in front of Nina. Right away, the ocelot sat up and sipped at it, ignoring the slightly off taste of it. They all sat and watched her, waiting for her to fall asleep. In a few minutes, Nina passed out and was off peacefully in her own mind.

"How did it exactly work with you, RJ?" Theo frowned. They had never heard the full story.

"Different than how it is now," RJ stated. "For me, my spirit was injured, therefore I lost control of it. Where Nina's spirit was stolen and is just trying to reconnect with her, she knows who her friends are and who her enemies are. She just needs to reconnect to her spirit while she's in her mind."

Casey looked to the sleeping cat. "But then what?"

They all looked around at each other.

* * *

After the long day of fighting, finding Jayden, and returning Nina back to normal, the others decided that they should just get pizza for dinner. While Ji was working on getting Nina back to normal, Antonio had gone out to find Jayden and the others were off fighting the Nighlok. RJ and the other Jungle Fury rangers had helped get Nina back to her normal form. The dirty blonde was glad to be human again, and she was happy that she got to see her cousin.

When they got home, Jayden and Nina sat outside on a bench, talking. Nina was telling Jayden about what had happened to her and how she was now a part of the Pai Zhuq. Jayden had told her what Dekker told him about why he wanted a duel and why he chose to have it against Jayden. As the two continued their talk, the others emerged from the house, carrying a couple boxes of pizza with them.

"Uh, is this a bad time?" Emily asked. The two turned around to see the others there.

"Uh, no," Jayden answered. "What's up?"

"Well," Mia continued. "First we wanted to make sure you two were okay, after all you've been through."

"And we're gonna try it out on some pizza," Mike added. "And figure out new strategy for these more powerful Nighlok."

Emily smiled. "Want to join us?" she offered. Nina nodded and got up, feeling hungry.

"Thanks guys," Jayden declined. "But why don't you go ahead without me?"

"Oh," Mia frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," the red ranger nodded. "Thanks."

The others turned and walked away, leaving Jayden to his thoughts.

"So, you'll explain to us the whole you turning into a cat thing, right?" Antonio looked to the orange ranger.

"Of course," Nina agreed.

Jayden stood and caught up with them. "Guys! I changed my mind. I will join you."

* * *

A/N: So I saw a movie yesterday, and in it was a mention of the Eye of Horus, and I immediately thought of House of Anubis.

Anyway, Nina's now back to normal and is a member of the Pai Zhuq. I might do the Broken Dreams and Ultimate Duel episode because of an idea I've been meaning to put into place and that being the perfect episodes to do it in, but I'm not completely sure on it.

Also, has anyone seen the YouTube video "After Ever After" by a guy with the name Paint? It's a parody on what would happen to a few Disney princesses if they were placed in the real world after their happily ever after.

What'd you guys think?

Thanks for so many reviews and readers! I never expected this story to have as many as it does.

I still have 16 days of school left, and the very last two are half days...thanks Sandy and Nemo (the names of the storms that caused my school to go on until June 28)!


	24. Broken Dreams

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 24: Broken Dreams**

_A/N: Okay, so despite my saying that this story would have forty chapters and would not include the Broken Dreams/The Ultimate Duel arc, I had come up with a couple of ideas for this. No matter what idea I do, however, the other will happen later on. Now, if I did my original idea for this chapter, then there wouldn't be much Nina in it. However, if I did my second idea, there would be some Nina/Jayden bonding moments, and I think that's the idea I'll use for this chapter. _

_Now, recently, I was reading reviews from this story, no matter what chapter, and there are a few I would like to respond to._

_**gypsymooneysgirl17733 –**__regarding your review asking who Antonio and Jayden will be with and hoping that they will be with each other, I have to say that while I don't care if people are gay/straight/lesbian/bisexual since I believe people have a right to be who they want to be and I do like the Jayden/Antonio pairing, I may or may not write them together as a couple, mainly because I'm not sure how to do that, whereas I have never written a guy/guy or girl/girl pairing. As I said, I have no problem with people who are gay/straight/lesbian/bisexual, but I'm just not sure how to write about those things in a fic. _

_**Christine – **__I've planned to have that happen with Nina, and one of the chapters I planned on having that happen was this one, but I've decided to move that happening to a later chapter (this is a response to your review on chapter 13)._

_**Moustachelover14 –**__I just really want to say that I love your username!_

_Thanks to those who are constantly reviewing and those who review even just once. Thank you to all the readers and followers of this story. I honestly didn't expect to have 84 reviews at only 23 chapters, and I didn't realize that these two worlds (House of Anubis and Power Rangers) colliding would have as big of a fan-base as it does._

_So with that said, let's get on with the chapter, shall we? Also, please read the AN at the bottom!_

_Also, as I believe it was briefly stated in the previous chapters, I do have Nina and Lily (from Jungle Fury) as cousins that do care about each other but hardly see each other._

_Italics are dreams._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Early morning a week later found it the start of summer. School was out, and the rangers were all back to normal. Nina was being trained by her older cousin to control her animal spirit and was learning more about it with every passing day. She wasn't exactly sure how it had happened or why, but she didn't care as long as it never happened again. At the moment, Kevin, Emily, and Mike were all training with the training dummies, while Jayden practiced his sword work off to the side.

Nina and Mia walked outside from the house to find them like this. Once the other four spotted them, they stopped what they were doing. "Hey guys," Mia greeted.

"Have you finally decided to join us for practice?" Kevin asked, not noticing that they weren't in training uniforms.

"Oh, no," Mia shook her head. "I told Mentor I'm cooking dinner tonight."

"Oh no," Kevin sighed, then quickly corrected himself. "I mean, what's the occasion?"

"Antonio's been working so hard to program the Black Box," Nina took over explaining. "That Mia wants to do something special for him. I'm only going with her because we need more groceries anyway."

"Hope you're hungry," Mia smiled and the two girls left. Jayden left in the opposite direction, not feeling up to training any more.

Mike spoke up. "Bummer for Jayden, man. First Octoroo poisons him, now this?" Emily smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Be nice," she admonished.

* * *

As Mia was paying for the groceries they had gotten, Nina waited outside of the store. It was a beautiful day, and many kids and people were running about, enjoying the summer. Nina knew that her friends back in England were all going to be doing something different. She had gotten emails from them where they had discussed summer plans, and she replied to all of them. She knew Jerome was going to spend time with his dad and sister, while Mara was going to be doing her own thing at home. Amber planned on visiting New York whereas Alfie was ready to relax. Joy hadn't said much about her plans. Fabian had said he told the others he was going to try and visit her, but really wasn't because of what was going on. Nina understood, and she couldn't blame him. Eddie had said that he was coming back to America, bringing Patricia with him for a few weeks so she could meet his mom.

Nina became so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice Mia appear beside her. "Hey," the pink ranger nudged her. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Nina chuckled. "Just…got lost in thought again."

"It seems that's all you've really done lately," Mia frowned in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Nina shrugged. "It's just…hard having to keep a secret this big from my friends in England and not have any good excuse to give them. I just wish there was a way for my two worlds to become one family."

Mia raised an eyebrow at the dirty blonde. "How often do you quote Disney songs or movies?"

"Not very often," Nina smiled. "I tend to quote my gran more than anything else." Before they could continue their chat, screams cut them off. They looked dead ahead, finding Dayu harassing a man with a guitar. Sharing a look, the two dropped the groceries to the ground and ran around the corner, hiding from sight as they morphed.

Once they were morphed, they charged Dayu. "Let him go!" Mia ordered. "Or I'll make you let him go!"

The two girls began fighting Dayu, carefully trying to avoid hitting the man as well. It was a bit difficult, and neither side seemed to be getting a hit on their target. The girls and Dayu clashed swords before the Nighlok shoved the man aside and into the girls, allowing Dayu to strike. She grabbed the man's arm again, preventing him from running away.

"Don't interfere, samurai rangers," she snarled.

"You're not going anywhere with him," Nina huffed. They set off fighting Dayu again, failing to notice another Nighlok monster slip through a gap. When they heard screams, the girls, the man, and even Dayu paused and turned to find the source. People began dropping unconscious before them as a red, purple, and green rhinoceros looking Nighlok appeared.

"Rhinosnorus, what are you doing here?" Dayu demanded.

"The boss sent me," he replied. "It's nap time for you." He fired his spray at the four. Nina and Mia stepped out of the way as did Dayu, but the man wasn't so lucky. He was hit, and he hit the ground a second later. Nina, who was far enough away not to be hit with the full blast, was still close enough to be hit with just a little of it, and she too fell unconscious, losing her morph in the process.

* * *

Eddie had gotten home a few days ago, bringing Patricia with him. The auburn haired girl was a bit surprised to learn Eddie had grown up on a farm and doing farm work. She already knew that he and his mom lived with his aunt, uncle, and two cousins. When she met Serena, the older blonde, despite being sick, had managed to get along with Patricia pretty well, telling her stories that would embarrass Eddie. Patricia had, however, wondered where Eddie's other cousin was. Eddie had lied and told her that Emily had moved into the city to help out her uncle on her father's side. After all, she didn't know the power rangers.

While she was here, Eddie planned on showing her the one thing he was never supposed to let anyone know about. Nina was a ranger, and he didn't event tell her, despite his secret being something sort of related to power rangers. On this day, Eddie had decided to show Patricia around the city, which he had frequently visited. Unfortunately, he had to be careful this time because of the Nighlok attacks, but he knew enough martial arts to defend himself and give himself enough time to get away.

As they were walking hand in hand, they heard screams. Alerted, they looked around frantically, before Patricia noticed what caused it. "What the hell is that?" she demanded, pointing at the Nighlok facing off the two rangers.

"Oh no," Eddie's eyes widened. "We need to leave, now."

"Why?" Patricia frowned. "What's going on?" She turned her attention back to the fight, just in time to see the orange ranger fall and the suit disappear, the face facing the two. "Nina?"

"Shit," Eddie muttered. Without question, he grabbed Patricia's arm and dragged her out of harm's way. "Patricia, stay here."

"Eddie, what the hell is going on?" she pressed. "Why is Nina lying passed out over there? Why was she in an orange suit?"

Eddie had no time for this. "Yacker, please, shut up, and I will explain later." He poked his head around the corner, seeing the fight had moved. With a path clear, he ran fast toward Nina, faster than most humans were capable of. He brought her back over to Patricia and carefully laid her down. "You want to know why Nina left?"

"This is why?" Patricia raised an eyebrow.

"Remember those power rangers I told you guys about not long after Nina left?" Eddie questioned. Patricia nodded. The idea seemed so ridiculous that it was something that stuck in her head. "Well, Nina's one of them. The orange one, to be exact. You can't tell anyone."

Patricia gaped at him. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Unfortunately, it's not," he snorted. "And you're about to get a crash course in a few things I've had to keep secret from everyone." He lifted Nina over his shoulder with surprising ease, causing his girlfriend to raise an eyebrow at him. "Grab my hand."

Carefully, Patricia did so, and the next thing she knew, they were practically flying through the woods.

* * *

When Eddie stopped, they were in the woods near a waterfall. Patricia was unsure of what to make of it, and was unsure of why they were stopped near a waterfall in the middle of the woods, let alone why there was a waterfall in the middle of the woods. Eddie carefully set Nina down, trying not to disturb her. To the two, it looked like she was just peacefully sleeping. "Eddie, what is going on?" Patricia asked calmly. "Please, tell me."

Eddie sighed and sat down beside her on a log, keeping an eye on Nina. He immediately began going into a tale of everything he knew about, starting with ninjas, and working his way up to power rangers and different powers. Patricia sat and listened, occasionally interrupting with a question here and there, which Eddie readily answered. When he explained about Nina, Patricia seemed to understand a bit better.

By the time the story ended, only a half hour had passed. Eddie heard twigs snapping and stood up, falling defensive. Patricia looked confused. A kind of tall blonde woman wearing a black uniform with blue trimming similar to the one Eddie currently sported (except his had yellow trimming) and a slightly shorter girl with dirty blonde hair wearing black and yellow appeared. Eddie dropped his stance and bowed.

"Eddie, what are you doing here?" Tori frowned, confused to see one of Dustin's students here. They all knew Eddie was Dustin's best student, and that he had ties to the current samurai team. Tori and Kira had a girls' day planned, leaving their husbands and young kids at home. Tori had wanted to stop by Ninja Ops to pick up the summer class schedule, and was surprised to see Eddie here along with two unfamiliar girls.

"Hoping to get help for her," Eddie pointed to the girl on the ground. "She's the orange on the new team."

"I'm still surprised there's an orange ranger," Kira snorted, amused. "It was a shock when a purple ranger appeared, but an orange ranger was just as shocking."

"What happened?" Tori rolled her eyes at her fellow ranger.

Eddie shrugged. "Don't know. She was hit with some white fog that made her unconscious and lose her morph, so I got her out of there before newscasters could catch anything on film. My girlfriend, Patricia, was there with me, so that's why she's here," he finished pointing to Patricia, who nervously stood by him.

Tori and Kira shared a look.

* * *

_Nina was happily in her dream world. She was back at Anubis House, laughing around and joking with her friends. Every student in Anubis knew all about the mysterious, including Mara and even Mick, who had come back to visit. The defined couples all sat near each other as the entire group sat in a circle, enjoying the company. There were no mysterious to be solved or monsters to be fought, and they were just regular, normal teens._

_Amber and Joy discussing fashion, flipping through a clothing magazine. _

_Mara was helping Mick with homework, and they were on even ground with each other, even if they had broken up._

_Jerome and Alfie were muttering in hushed whispers, undoubtedly planning another prank._

_Eddie was trying to get Patricia to eat a hoagie._

_Nina and Fabian were cuddled up, watching a movie on his laptop. _

_Things were perfect, and there were no secrets between anyone. They all knew had a brother and a sister, and knew that she was a ranger, and they knew Eddie was an earth ninja. No one seemed to mind, and they all thought it was kind of cool to be living with a superhero. Nina recalled chuckling at the nonexistent memory. _

_That was the issue, however. This was Nina's dream world and not reality, and Nina seemed to sense it. Her head, since entering the dream world, was filled with memories of things she knew definitely did not happen. None of her Anubis housemates, aside from Fabian and Eddie, knew she was a ranger. Mara and Mick were still clueless about the two mysteries that had occurred. Yet, despite knowing this wasn't real, Nina didn't want to wake up. _

_Shouting drew their attention to where a small crowd had gathered. Three men that seemed oddly familiar to Nina were fighting over a trophy, and no one could tell why. A strange creature that Nina instantly recognized as a Nighlok appeared, and no one was doing anything. _

_All of a sudden, she felt something pulling at her, and her eyes opened._

* * *

Nina woke up with a gasp, sitting up straight and realizing she was in a bed of some sort. She frowned, confused. Wasn't she just on a battlefield with Mia fighting off Dayu? When did she get to a bed? She blinked a few times and looked around the room, spotting three people in there, two of which she recognized. Immediately, her gaze narrowed on Eddie and she looked at him sharply. "Eddie, what the hell happened?"

"You must've been hit by some sort of dreaming spell," the tall, brunette man wearing a uniform similar to the one Nina noticed Eddie was in spoke. "Eddie and his girlfriend brought you here, thinking we could help you get out of it and back fighting with your team. I'm Dustin, by the way. Eddie's ninja sensei and former yellow ranger."

"Huh?" Nina frowned.

Patricia grinned. "My thoughts exactly." Nina turned to her. "Eddie told me everything. Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell anyone."

"Alright, explain to me what happened…slowly," Nina pleaded.

* * *

After having heard the explanation of what happened to her, Nina thanked the ninjas for their hospitality. Eddie ninja streaked her, Patricia, and himself back to Panorama City, which wasn't that far when ninja streaking. When they got back, Eddie and Patricia took off and left Nina alone. Nina looked up and saw Antonio and her brother fighting off giant moogers in their zords. Thinking quickly, Nina morphed and got up to size with the two boys.

"Incoming!" she yelled, running by the moogers and sending them haywire. She stopped in between her brother and Antonio.

"Nina," Antonio turned to her.

"Where have you been?" Jayden wondered.

"Long story," Nina huffed. "But it looks like we got bigger problems."

* * *

With their part of the fight over, the orange, red, and gold samurai rangers were back on solid ground, the red ranger being supported by his teammates. The moogers and Nighlok of the day were gone, and the only thing left to do was go home and listen to Nina's story of what happened. They were walking home, passing by a warehouse when Jayden needed to rest. Nina and Antonio escorted him over to a bench, sitting him down.

Nina and Antonio sat on either side of him, catching their breath as well. "Good job," Jayden breathed. "Just like old times. Are you okay?"

"Every muscle hurts," Antonio groaned. Nina had to chuckle. She had gotten the least injured in the fight, and the guys ended up getting the worst end of the attacks. Antonio glared at her. "How are you not sore?"

"Guess luck is on my side today," she shrugged. Their attention was grabbed by the warehouse door sliding up, a man familiar to them stepping into view. Dekker appeared, looking right at Jayden. The red ranger managed to get to his feet, standing across from Dekker. Antonio and Nina stood on either side of him.

"Jayden, what do you think you're doing?" the gold ranger asked.

Nina glared at Dekker. "Why do you want to fight him now? Why?"

Dekker simply drew his sword and pointed it at them, not saying a word.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter turned out longer than I expected. I did plan for Patricia to find out about Nina being a ranger while she was visiting Eddie in America (since she says she does visit him in American in the season 3 HOA premier). I also decided to make Eddie and earth ninja just to bring in a couple ninja storm rangers, and Kira just kind of appeared. Anyway, what'd you think?

**Important: **Bad news. Unfortunately, my reason for not updating this story yesterday is two reasons: I had my senior pictures which took far longer than they should have, and two, the hard drive on my laptop blew, causing me to have the Geek Squad at my local Best Buy fix it. When it blew, I was working on this chapter of House Of Rangers (which is why there more than likely won't be an update on that until after next week) and lost everything I had of it. Thankfully, all my other fics and what I have done of them so far is on a flash drive, and I have two other computers at home until I can get my laptop back.

Also, updates until after June 28 will be slow, since all next week I will be preparing for the Relay For Life (which I have to bake 8 dozen of my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies, make friendship bracelets with names of loved ones on it for my teammates to wear in support, decorating Luminaria bags, and whatnot), I have finals to study for the following week, and I can't always use the other two computers in my house since my brother is constantly using the one with sound to play Minecraft (a game I despise), and the other one does not have sound.

Hopefully, I will get back to updating soon, and I will try to get a House of Rangers chapter out this week.

**New Stories Coming Up:**

This One's For the Girls - Pretty Little Liars and Glee crossover. Will be posted around August 10, 2013.

New Girl - New PR series (see profile for info, under Mixed Hearts series). Post date: around June 29, 2013.


	25. The Ultimate Duel

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 25: The Ultimate Duel**

_A/N: Last time, Nina got sucked into the dream world, where she dreamed life at Anubis house was perfect. Patricia found out Nina was a ranger and Eddie was a ninja. Eddie brought Nina and Patricia to the ninja academy to see if the ninja rangers could help Nina get out of the dream world so she could help her team take on the Nighlok. She awoke, and fled to help Jayden and Antonio out with giant moogers. Now, Jayden, Antonio, and Nina have a run in with Dekker to settle. What's going to happen now?_

_Italics are flashbacks._

_Okay, so because there is an HOA special airing tonight and since this is probably the only chance this week I will get to post something (tomorrow I have a meeting for some advisory board I'm on, Wendesday I'm going with my mom to the school committee meeting to try and get a lacrosse team started in my school, Thursday I am going to be baking 8 dozen cookies, and Friday into Saturday I have the Relay for Life, so Sunday will be the next time I update anything), I decided to update this story today._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

With their part of the fight over, the orange, red, and gold samurai rangers were back on solid ground, the red ranger being supported by his teammates. The moogers and Nighlok of the day were gone, and the only thing left to do was go home and listen to Nina's story of what happened. They were walking home, passing by a warehouse when Jayden needed to rest. Nina and Antonio escorted him over to a bench, sitting him down.

Nina and Antonio sat on either side of him, catching their breath as well. "Good job," Jayden breathed. "Just like old times. Are you okay?"

"Every muscle hurts," Antonio groaned. Nina had to chuckle. She had gotten the least injured in the fight, and the guys ended up getting the worst end of the attacks. Antonio glared at her. "How are you not sore?"

"Guess luck is on my side today," she shrugged. Their attention was grabbed by the warehouse door sliding up, a man familiar to them stepping into view. Dekker appeared, looking right at Jayden. The red ranger managed to get to his feet, standing across from Dekker. Antonio and Nina stood on either side of him.

"Jayden, what do you think you're doing?" the gold ranger asked.

Nina glared at Dekker. "Why do you want to fight him now? Why?"

Dekker simply drew his sword and pointed it at them, not saying a word.

"Why now?" Antonio repeated. "He's too exhausted!" Moogers appeared behind Dekker, and the half Nighlok man did not seem happy about it.

"Master Xandred and his noodle-faced crony Octoroo have seen to it that we are interrupted yet again," he spoke. He changed into his Nighlok form before spinning around and taking on the attacking moogers. Since the moogers were charging for the rangers, Dekker fought them off. "No one touch the red ranger. He's mine!"

"He's relentless," Antonio commented.

Nina rolled her eyes. "That's not really helping." With a quick spin of his sword, the moogers were down and gone. "Though it's not even a challenge for him." Dekker transformed back into his human form.

"All right, red ranger," he continued. "Our time to duel has come."

"No," Nina denied, stepping in front of her brother. "Not now. We just finished a battle. Besides, rangers don't fight for the sake of fighting."

"Red ranger," Dekker ignored her. "I'll give you twenty four hours. But there will be no further delay. Tomorrow, metal will meet metal."

"Didn't you hear Nina?" Jayden huffed. "I won't fight for fighting's sake. I only fight to protect the innocent."

"Well then," Dekker threatened. "If you don't show, I doubt I'll be able to control myself."

"What's that mean?" Jayden demanded.

Nina, having dealt with similar things before, knew exactly what he meant. "It means he may not be able to hold back his Nighlok side much longer."

"I could possibly attack whoever is near," Dekker added.

"You'd threaten random people?" Jayden scoffed. "Then you're not half human. You're true Nighlok."

"Call me what you want," Dekker stared at the three. "But no one will be safe. And my victims' pain will be your fault, not mine."

"Then you leave me no choice," Jayden glared. "I will fight, and I will defeat you."

Dekker nodded. "Noon tomorrow by the sea." He put his sword back to his side and walked away, the three rangers watching him go.

* * *

After getting back to the Shiba house, Jayden told the others about his, Antonio's, and Nina's run in with Dekker after the fight. Everyone else had gotten back before them, and they were all wondering what took them three longer. Telling the tale didn't take as long as they thought and the reactions were expected. Kevin was pacing the room. "Jayden, it's crazy to do this," he remarked. "Take on Dekker and do it alone?"

"Dekker insists that's how it has to be," Antonio pointed out.

"You can't do this," Kevin argued. "A samurai only fights battles that are necessary."

"This is necessary," Jayden continued. "If I don't go, Dekker threatened to hurt innocent people."

"Okay, fine," Kevin shrugged. "We'll handle him just like any other Nighlok – as a team."

Jayden stood. "Kevin, you don't get it. If I'm not alone, it won't satisfy him."

"Since when do we let a Nighlok dictate how we battle?" Kevin demanded. Everyone else stayed silent.

"I know now that Dekker won't stop until Jayden duels him," Mia spoke. "We have to let him go."

"Mia, how could you say that?" Kevin looked to the pink ranger. "Jayden isn't just our leader, he's also the one who has the sealing power. Jayden, you're part of the key to stopping the Nighlok."

"Kev's right," Mike agreed. "You shouldn't risk it."

"This discussion is over," Jayden huffed. He walked out of the room, the other six rangers watching him leave.

* * *

Later that night, Nina had decided to go find her brother. She knew she wouldn't be able to talk him out of this fight, but she could at least help him and find a way to make sure he came back alive. The dirty blonde knew Dekker was a tough opponent, and if anyone could defeat him, it would be Jayden. Nina knew that while everyone else was in the kitchen, her brother would more than likely be in the dojo. She stepped into the room, catching his attention.

"Jayden," she began. "Is there any way of talking you out of this?"

"You can't," Jayden stated, not even looking at her. "But…you can help me get ready. I've got some special moves I want to practice." He held out a sword to her.

"Anything that'll get you back here alive," she agreed, taking it. She figured something like this would happen, which was why she came in her training uniform.

The two set to work. To both, it was still a training session, but with a lot more power and tension behind it than usual. Of course, that was because of Dekker and the seriousness of the fight that would take place tomorrow, but Nina didn't care as long as Jayden survived. As they continued to clash swords, a memory resurfaced in Nina's mind.

_From her hiding spot in the bushes, Nina could see her brother and sister training. She was too young to actually start her training, but Jayden had figured out a way for her to help him and Lauren train. For a two year old, Nina had a good throwing arm, and in her hands she currently held a ball. It was soft and wouldn't hurt whoever it hit, but it would provide a great distraction. _

_Jayden and Lauren continued training, their parents watching from the nearby bench. Neither parent knew Nina was outside as well. The other rangers were inside the house or out in the town, enjoying a well deserved day off. The current orange and red rangers were planning to spend the day as a family once Jayden and Lauren's match finished. _

_When Lauren and Jayden were pushing against each other's sword, Nina saw her opportunity. Taking the ball in her hand and making sure to stay quiet, she raised it and threw it. She smiled when it hit her target. Lauren turned her head briefly to find where the ball had come from, allowing Jayden to knock her down. Nina then ran out of the bushes giggling._

"_Hey, no fair!" Lauren huffed as she got up. "Mom! Dad! Jayden cheated!"_

"_Lauren, you should know by now that if you get distracted, you won't win," their father stated as the two adults got up and walked over to the three kids. Nina had hopped onto Jayden's back, still giggling. The four year old held up his sister who was at least half his weight. _

"_And Jayden," their mother turned to the boy in red. "You should know better than to use your sister to pull a fast one like that, especially in training."_

"_But we were using team work," Jayden argued._

"_What Jay Jay said," Nina continued giggling. Their father picked her up and held her._

"_Why don't we just forget about this for now and go somewhere fun?" he suggested. "Like maybe get some ice cream?"_

_Lauren, Jayden, and Nina grinned wide. "Yes!"_

As the memory finished playing in her mind, Nina let a smirk come to her face. Jayden noticed this and frowned, momentarily distracted by it and allowing her to knock him down. The red ranger got back to his feet, wondering what was on her mind. "What's with the sudden smirk?"

"I think I know of a way to take down Dekker and make it so it's not just you fighting against him," she stated.

"You know that if I'm not alone…"

"We just have to make him think you are."

* * *

Nina led Jayden to his room, so the two could talk privately about her idea. She knew that in order for this to work, none of the others could know about it. Jayden was still confused as to what exactly her plan was, and as to why they couldn't discuss it in the dojo, but he trusted Nina knew what she was doing. When they got into the room and Nina shut the door, she began.

"Remember when I wasn't old enough to start training and you would have me help you beat Lauren in the training matches?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jayden nodded. "You would hide in the bushes, making sure no one could see you, and then you'd throw a ball at her to distract her so I could win."

"What if we did the same thing tomorrow at your duel?" Nina suggested.

Jayden immediately denied it. "No. It'll be too dangerous. He'll know you're there."

"Not if I show up after the fight starts," Nina pointed out. "He'll be too focused on beating you by that point that he won't notice I'm there. Besides, I've gotten better at hiding over the years that he won't be able to see me."

"Let's say I agree to this," Jayden mused. "I doubt a simple ball would be enough to distract him."

"We'll figure it out," she shrugged.

* * *

In the morning, Nina had snuck out of the house about an hour before Jayden was supposed to leave. It would give her enough time to scope the area for a good hiding spot. She had left a note for the others to find, and hopefully they would find it. She didn't say what exactly her and Jayden's plan was, but just that they were taking care of things. She had shown up to breakfast, but took off not long after that without anyone noticing.

After Jayden had left to go meet Dekker by the sea, the others turned to head inside the house. They were surprised Nina wasn't there to wish him good luck, but they figured she probably did so the night before or earlier in the morning. However, they still found it odd that she hadn't made an appearance. Before they could find her, the gap sensor had gone off. Jayden had left Kevin in charge until he got back, so Kevin led the team out to the fight.

Jayden approached Dekker slowly, as Nina observed from her spot hiding in the trees. She figured she would wait until the fight appeared as though it was almost over before providing the distraction. The orange ranger sat morphed, watching as her brother and Dekker faced off.

"It took you long enough," Dekker spoke. "Still, I knew you'd come. Just like me, you need this battle."

"No," Jayden shook his head. "I'm nothing like you. The only thing I need is to stop you from hurting anyone else."

"All that matters is that you're here," Dekker reached for his sword. He transformed into his Nighlok form before pulling it out. Jayden wasted no time in morphing and drawing his sword either. "At last, the time has come. "

"Yes," Jayden agreed. "For you to fall." Jayden took a few steps closer. "It's not too late, Dekker. We don't have to do this."

"You still don't understand," Dekker rolled his eyes. "I have no choice but to fight to the glorious end."

"Then you leave me no choice," Jayden huffed.

Everything went still for a moment, and then the fight was on. Nina watched from her spot as Jayden and Dekker went at it, dueling each other. She had never seen her brother fight so hard before, even when they were younger. She knew that Dekker was an entirely different form of Nighlok and was undoubtedly tougher than the other Nighlok, but she had confidence Jayden would defeat him, even if it took a little help from her.

Nina winced as she saw Jayden stumble backwards from a hit. She heard her samurizer go off, despite silencing it a bit. "Yeah?" she spoke in whispers, making sure that the boys wouldn't hear her.

"_Nina, where are you?" _Ji demanded. _"The others could use your help downtown."_

"I'm already helping," Nina muttered, hanging up. She sent her zord to go help the others form the megazord. She saw Dekker and Jayden had taken the fight to the cliff that was in line with the tree she was hiding in. With a smirk, she brought out her fire chucks and had them ready to throw for when she saw her opening. Nina could tell her brother was becoming tired. When she saw Jayden about to make his final strike, she could tell he sent her a look telling her it was time.

With good force, she threw the fire chucks toward Dekker, catching his attention and allowing Jayden to strike. Dekker had Jayden at sword point, and as the fire chucks hit Dekker, Jayden dropped his sword into his other hand and whacked Dekker with a good blow. Jayden struck again, splitting Dekker's sword Urumasa in half.

"A master move," Dekker breathed. "You let me wound you so you'd get close enough to distract and finish me. Well fought, red ranger. You have honored me and freed me from my torment. Thank you." He fell face first off the cliff, back toward Jayden. Jayden looked up into the trees where he knew Nina was hiding and he smiled.

Just as Nina hit the ground and ran over to him, Jayden fell to his knees and lost his morph. Nina lost hers as well as she got closer to him. Jayden was nursing his wrist as his sister reached him. She threw her arms around his neck to give him a huge hug, which he did his best to return. "You did it!" she grinned, glad that the plan had worked and he was still alive.

"Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come up with that plan," he coughed out.

"You came up with a long time ago," she corrected. "I just remembered. Come on. Let's get you back home so Ji can look at your wrist." She helped him get to his feet, and as they were starting away, the other rangers ran over to them.

"Jayden, are you all right?" Kevin asked as they gathered around him.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"And Dekker?" Mia wondered. "Is he…?"

Jayden confirmed the suspicions. "Gone."

"Let's get you home," Kevin declared. Mia moved to help Nina escort Jayden. Antonio and Kevin joined them as Mike and Emily led the way home.

* * *

"So where were you?"Mia asked Nina as the girls made their way outside to join the boys. They were getting drinks for everyone from the kitchen. Antonio was finishing up cooking a fish for them to celebrate the defeat of Dekker. Jayden's arm was set up in a sling, keeping him from using his arm too much.

"Helping Jayden," Nina explained. "I hid in the trees, and I distracted Dekker by throwing my fire chucks at him, which gave Jayden his chance to deliver the final blow. We came up with that plan last night, but in order for it to work, we couldn't tell any of you. Dekker never knew I was there until I threw the fire chucks, and it was too late for him to really do anything about it."

"How did you come up with that plan?" Emily wondered.

"Well," Nina bit her lip. "It came from a memory, from when our parents were still rangers. Don't know why I suddenly remembered it, but I'm glad I did." They made it outside and took seats at the table, where the guys were already sitting. The girls passed around the drinks and they all filled their plates with food.

Once everyone was set, Jayden spoke up. "Everyone, I just want to say I'm sorry. I know I had to duel Dekker to stop him from hurting people, but…I also think something in me wanted to fight him to prove myself worthy of being the red ranger." Nina was the only one present that understood the true meaning behind that.

"No, Jayden," Emily shook her head. "He forced your hand."

"You did what you had to do," Mike added.

"Maybe," Jayden nodded. "But there's still much to do, and I promise I won't ever jeopardize our mission again."

"Dekker is gone," Kevin stated. "But Master Xandred is still out there. And until he's defeated, no one is safe."

Ji dug out the Black Box, looking at it before Jayden spoke again. "As rangers, it's our responsibility to save the world from the Nighlok. I'm just grateful we don't have to do it alone."

Looking around the table, smiling, they all spoke.

"Rangers together, samurai forever!"

* * *

A/N: So this ends that. I am not splitting this up into two stories, but the next chapter will be based off of Super Samurai. I'm still debating whether or not to include Clash of the Red Rangers. Anyway, this chapter had some Jayden/Nina brother/sister bonding. This chapter also turned out longer than I thought it would. What's up next?


	26. Super Samurai

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 26: Super Samurai**

_A/N:Last time, Nina and Jayden had some bonding moments as brother and sister. Jayden had his huge fight with Dekker, which Nina helped him deliver the final blow. None of the others knew of the plan to have Nina help him until after Dekker was gone. Jayden has an arm injury that will still be present in this chapter, which is why a few things are going to be changed around. Also, remember that I am making the Samurai seasons set within one year, so I can have Nina reappear with the Anubis gang for the HOA season 3 finale, and I also might do a one-shot follow up based on the special that recently aired._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

It was a week later when the summer began to really get to the rangers. Mia and Kevin had headed out to an open field close to where Jayden and Dekker had dueled to train, figuring a slight change in scenery might do them some good. Antonio, as usual, had decided to go fishing. Mike had convinced Emily to go skating around the city, so they were out somewhere in the city. Jayden and Nina decided to stay at home, the red ranger still nursing his injured wrist in a sling. Because of it, the role of team leader was temporarily handed over to Nina.

Nina had planned on making a quick video call to one of her friends now that she had a bit of free time, but a call from Emily on the samurizer ruined that idea. With a sigh, she had gone to meet the other rangers in the middle of the city, where Emily and Mike had found something strange. Once she arrived, five of the seven rangers bent over the pool of red water seeping through.

"I can't believe this is happening," Mia muttered.

"Jayden and I were afraid this would happen," Nina sighed. She, Ji, and Jayden had been discussing it late at night when the others weren't around or awake, and they figured this would happen sooner or later. She grabbed a stick from beside her and poked it into the water, watching the pronged end burn before pulling it out. "Sanzu River water."

"This is not good," Kevin stated.

"We've seen the Netherworld break through to ours before," Emily recalled.

Nina stood with the others. "Yeah, but this much water is really dangerous."

"And with pools like these, the Nighlok can rehydrate without even going back to the Sanzu River," Kevin realized.

"Guys, over here!" Mia called, from where she had spotted another pool. The four ran over to her and saw a bigger pool flowing into the sewage system.

"Last time this happened, Mentor said that it was a sign that the Nighlok were growing stronger," Kevin remembered, and Nina nodded to confirm it.

Mia looked up. "Uh, it gets worse. Look. Footprints."

* * *

The five rangers followed the footprints, Mike ahead of the others. Nina had called Ji and Jayden to let them know what was going on and asked them to get Antonio to finish up the Black Box and fast. It appeared as if they were going to need it soon, and now seemed like the best time to get it going. As they followed the footprints, Nina spoke to Kevin. "We'll track down those cracks and plug them up too."

"These footprints are definitely Nighlok," Mike declared.

"But no Gap sensor went off," Mia pointed out.

"I don't think it came through a gap recently," Nina mused. "This Nighlok has been here awhile."

"And using those pools of Sanzu water to keep from drying out," Kevin finished, catching on.

* * *

The samurai rangers found themselves following Mike through the forest. The forest was his element, and the footprints led them into the woods nearby. Nina had gotten a call from Jayden saying that Antonio was working on the Black Box and he'd get it to them soon. The trail began to fade, but Mike managed to track it thanks to being in his element. When they stepped out of the woods, they heard a yell of "run" and screams following it in the nearby suburban area.

Morphing, the rangers made it onto the scene, swords drawn and at the ready. "Hold it right there, Nighlok!" Nina ordered. To her, this Nighlok was unfamiliar.

"Not this creep again," Emily huffed. "He's the one that got away."

"That's fine," Nina began. "This time, we'll finish him off." Right away, they all charged Arachnitor, taking him on. The orange ranger had no idea what to expect as they fought this Nighlok, but minutes after they began, Mike and Kevin were thrown back. Mia was the next one to go, followed by Emily. Before Nina could do anything, the Nighlok flew away.

"Wow," Emily sighed. "That monster's really strong."

"Don't you remember?" Mike asked as Nina helped him up. "He mutated."

"He's out of control," Mia added. "But what's worse is he's not drying out."

Kevin nodded. "He must be using a big pool of river water."

"Either way," Nina spoke up. "We need to find him before he hurts anyone else."

"How are we gonna track him down?" Emily wondered.

"Definitely not by standing around here," Nina pointed out, and the rangers set off.

* * *

Having no way of tracking the Nighlok now that the footprints were completely gone, the five rangers decided to head back to the Shiba house, were Jayden and Ji looked them over. Antonio was in another room working on the Black Box, trying to get it ready for use. Everyone else sat around the common room, staring at the map on the coffee table. "There are many spots where the Sanzu River is seeping into our world," Ji stated. "It looks like Xandred may be planning to flood the Earth."

"We'll have to work as a team, even harder," Kevin added.

"The Nighlok have tried to ambush us before," Jayden spoke. "But this time, it's our turn."

"We'll ambush him," Nina caught on.

"But how?" Emily asked.

Nina looked at the map. "He'll need to rehydrate, so we'll catch him at the source."

The point she touched on the map became highlighted, and the rangers knew what they had to do.

* * *

"This must be the source," Nina observed as five of the rangers looked at a pool of Sanzu water in a quarry. They were standing in the building beside it. "When he shows up, he's in for a surprise." The others were further back in the building, looking around for other pools. Kevin stuck with Nina, observing the same thing she was. "Where's that Nighlok?"

"Could we be wrong?" Kevin questioned.

"The map definitely identified this site," Nina sighed. "But that just means this general area. We saw this pool and assumed."

"Of course!" Kevin realized. "This place is so big! There could be another pool." The two left their spot and ran through the structure, in search of the others and unaware they had walked by a powerful symbol set up by Octoroo. Nina stopped them short when she heard grumbling and pointed down to where Arachnitor was splashing around in a pool of water.

Nina looked to Kevin. "Call the others." The two began moving around, making their way to the ground carefully. They hid behind a stone, staying out of sight from the Nighlok, or so they hoped. The Nighlok jumped out of the pool and was back on level ground. A horde of moogers appeared behind him. "Kevin, this just got a lot tougher."

Taking a deep breath, she stood and stepped out, facing the Nighlok. Kevin did the same, standing beside her.

"Don't worry," Kevin spoke. "I've got your back." Emily, Mia, and Mike ran onto the scene and joined them. They all stood in their usual positions as they faced the Nighlok.

"We all have your back," Emily assured. Nina nodded.

"Samurizer," she called.

"Go go samurai!" However, nothing happened. They did everything how they should have, but they weren't morphed at all.

"What's wrong?" Mia frowned.

Kevin looked surprised as well. "This hasn't happened before. Something's blocking us from morphing." He looked up and saw a red card with a symbol on it. "There! We crossed an evil barrier!" They all drew their spin swords, still capable of doing that.

"Kevin and I will handle the barriers," Nina declared. "You guys, be careful. There's a lot of Sanzu water here, and it's dangerous stuff." She charged off toward the barrier farthest away, taking down any moogers she had to. The dirty blonde easily jumped around the pools of water. Kevin began to do the same, but started with the barrier closest to them. Mia, Mike, and Emily headed into the crowd of moogers.

It was difficult avoiding the multitude of Sanzu River puddles seeping through, but the rangers were somehow managing it. Moogers kept on coming and wouldn't seem to stop. Mia found herself coming close to falling into one as moogers tried pushing her down, the pink ranger pushing back using her sword. Nina reached the first barrier at the same time Kevin reached the other one. Together, they cut through it, and instantly their suits appeared over them, giving them protection.

"Time to take out that Nighlok!" Nina called as she and Kevin joined the others. Mia, Mike, and Emily followed as they faced him. They continued fighting off the moogers as Kevin and Nina took on the Nighlok. Arachnitor knocked Kevin back before wrapping Nina up and throwing her to the side. Mia and Emily were knocked back as well Mike soon following. Mike, Kevin, Emily, and Mia were all knocked down with one huge blow.

"He's too strong," the blue ranger groaned.

"Man," Mike huffed. "This isn't good."

"Stay strong," Nina stood in front of them. "We can't give up now."

"Guys!" a shout grabbed their attention. Nina looked up and saw a morphed Antonio heading for them. "I did it! Gold is good, but right now, black is better!" He reached the others, standing next to Nina. "The Black Box is ready!" Antonio handed Nina the box and disk.

Nina grinned beneath her helmet as she took them. "Let's see what it can do." She inserted the disk into the box as the others stood. "Super Samurai Mode!" She pushed a button, and her suit transformed. A white jacket with gold trimming and the logo on it appeared over the suit as the orange ranger felt more power flowing through her.

"You're done for, Nighlok!" Antonio smirked, proud that his job was paying off. "I've combined all the power disks into the Black Box, and now we can morph into Super Samurai, unleashing super powers you can only imagine! Scared? You should be! She's gonna squash you like the bug that you are!"

"Nighlok," Nina spoke as she attached the box to her spin sword. "You're about to meet the super samurai." Moogers charged as the orange ranger simply walked forward, taking them down with ease. "So much power…man this Black Box rules! Say good-bye, moogers!" One final swipe through them destroyed them.

Nina took on the Nighlok one on one, faring much better than any of the rangers had before. The others could only sit back and watch in amazement as Nina took on Arachnitor. They had to admit that they were all jealous of it, even Antonio, but they knew they would all get their turn with it eventually. Combining her zord disk with the Black Box, she managed to set her sword on fire and take down Arachnitor with one single blow.

"Wow," Kevin awed as the others ran over to her. "That super samurai mode is awesome."

"Stay alert," Nina warned. "This Nighlok's going mega."

No sooner had the words left her mouth that the Nighlok reappeared bigger.

* * *

The fight was finally over, and the rangers were focusing on cleaning up the area of Sanzu water. Since it didn't seem to damage the rocks, they thought that Emily would be able to cover the pools using some symbol power. None of them were morphed at the moment, and Nina had thanked Antonio for finishing the Black Box in time for this fight. Arachnitor was gone for good, and hopefully the rangers would be able to rest.

They all gathered around as Emily filled in the last pool of water. "Good job Emily," Mia smiled.

"Yeah, good job Em," Mike agreed.

"Thanks," the blonde sighed. "I don't think I have an ounce of symbol power left."

"Good think that's the last lake," Mike pointed out, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Mia and Nina shared a knowing look, but didn't say anything.

"For now," Nina stated.

Antonio pouted at her. "Aw, man, don't be such a downer. We just won."

"Yeah, but I don't like that the Nighlok have found a way to mutate," Emily commented.

"The threat is growing, but so are we," Nina pointed out. "Thanks to Antonio, here."

"Maybe we'll finally get an edge on Master Xandred," Mike spoke as he and Antonio fist bumped.

"We just have to keep getting better and stronger," Nina continued. "We have to be…super samurai."

Despite Jayden not being able to be there, they all did what they did best. "Rangers together, samurai forever!"

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I've planned out how the rest of this story is going to go, and I have gotten up to 44 chapters. So we are beyond the halfway point. Anyway, what'd you think? Also, because of something I have planned for "Trading Places," the next chapter will be the last one to take place during the summer months.


	27. Shell Game

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 27: Shell Game**

_A/N: So last time, Antonio finished the Black Box. Summer is just getting started being put under way, and there's still a month left of it. Jayden's arm will still be in the cast for this chapter, but it will be off for the next. I decided to postpone my idea for Trading Places and put it off until later if I can work it in. I will try to include Anubis characters more often, but bear with me. I want to get this story done and over with because despite how popular it is, it'll be nice to not have thoughts about what to put in the next chapter plaguing my mind._

_I also can't believe this is already chapter 27. Feels like I barely already started this._

_Happy 4th of July to those who celebrate it like me!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the shows._

* * *

It was a bit later in the summer, yet Jayden still had to wear his cast. Ji told him it would be best for him to sit out this next battle, just to make sure it would heal properly. Jayden reluctantly agreed, Nina assuring him that she would be fine in battle. The rangers were happy that they had a new power up, despite only one of them being able to use it at a time. They all knew they would get a chance to use it. At the moment, Mike, Emily, Kevin, and Nina were outside training. Mike and Kevin were practicing their sword technique, while Emily worked on her symbol power. Nina was sitting near Emily, sending emails to her friends.

Emily finished her symbol and smiled to herself. It quickly vanished and she and Nina ducked out of the way as a huge boulder came off the paper. "Watch out!" she shouted.

Kevin and Mike turned quickly, trying to use their swords to stop the boulder from crushing them. They were both knocked out of the way and the girls ran over to them as the boulder hit the bench and stopped rolling. "Sorry," Emily apologized.

"No problem Em," Mike assured. "Man, how cool would these be if they cut through stone like Dekker's sword?"

"Just be glad we haven't met anything that would require that type of power," Kevin stated.

"I wouldn't jinx it if I were you," Nina warned. "There's still quite a few Nighlok out there, and one of them could have that ability."

"Still," Mike looked to the boulder. "It'd be cool."

* * *

The alarm blared as the four rangers continued their training session. Mia and Jayden had gone out to get groceries and hadn't returned when the call came. Nina, Emily, Mike, and Kevin all rushed out to the stadium, where the Nighlok was spotted. Mia met up with them while Jayden headed back to the house, not wanting to disobey Ji's orders. Antonio had yet to appear.

"Nighlok!" Nina called as the five morphed rangers appeared before it. They noticed it looked sort of like an armadillo. "That's enough."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" the Nighlok huffed. "How dare you talk to me at all!"

"No more talking's fine by me," Nina drew her sword.

"Maybe I'll have some fun with these lousy lame-o's," the Nighlok thought aloud. "Before I take them down."

Mia drew her sword as well. "You're the one going down, Nighlok."

"You're nothing but a joke!" the Nighlok scoffed. "Now let's see…what would be the funnest way to mash them to bits?" Nina and Mia shared a look before moving to make the first attack, the other three staying behind. "You are really going to attack me? Check this out!" he folded himself up into a ball, causing no harm to come to him when he was struck. "Your swords feel like pillows." He punched the two girls back to the others.

All five quickly got involved in the fight. They were constantly thrown back, but they didn't let that stop them. Nothing they tried seemed to be working. All their attacks appeared to have little to no effect on the Nighlok, which confused the rangers. All five were tossed aside once more and the Nighlok cackled maniacally.

"I told you," he taunted. "No matter what you do, you wretches can't even touch me."

"We can't even dent his shell," Emily frowned as they helped each other up. Kevin pulled out his hydro bow to see if it would make a difference, but it didn't do anything. Mike then tried with his forest spear, getting the same result. Emily stepped forward with her earth slicer, and that too had no effect.

"This is getting annoying," the Nighlok stood. "Leave now before someone carries you away."

"Not one of our attacks works," Mia pointed out.

Emily spotted something from the corner of her eye. "Hey, look!" she pointed to where two guys were standing, a rather fat one and a skinny one, the latter clearly younger. Unfortunately, the Nighlok spotted them as well and scared them off. "What was that all about?"

"Go help get those guys to safety," Nina ordered. "We'll hold off this Nighlok."

"Nothing will happen to them on my watch," Mike confirmed. He and Emily ran off after the two guys and Kevin and Mia moved forward to help Nina. The Nighlok rolled into a ball and knocked the three around before they had a chance to attack. Mike and Emily saw this and turned around to help them.

"You got lucky," the Nighlok grumbled, getting back up. "I'm drying out. But I'll finish you later." He vanished into a gap.

"How can we stop him if nothing we do even slows him down?" Kevin wondered as he, Nina, and Mia got up.

* * *

"Nothing gets through his armor," Mike huffed as the samurai entered the house and made their way to the common room. They had walked back in silence after the Nighlok vanished and hadn't started talking until they got back to the house. Jayden and Ji had yet to appear in sight, and they were all wondering why Antonio hadn't shown up to help them. "How are we going to beat him?"

"We'll find a way," Nina assured. "He must have some weakness."

"May I remind you that not one of our attacks damaged him at all?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

Ji spoke as he and Jayden entered the room. "Like Nina said, there must be some crack in his defenses."

"That's it," Kevin realized, turning to the group.

"What?" Jayden asked. "You have an idea?"

"Yeah," the blue ranger nodded. "I think I cracked the code. We just need the right ranger with the right attack in the right order. We'll beat him as a team."

"Speaking of team," Emily piped up. "Where's Antonio?"

* * *

While the rangers spent time trying to figure out Kevin's plan and how they could use it, Ji was trying to reach Antonio. The guys were all flipping through books, trying to find anything that could help them while the girls were watching Ji try to find Antonio. "I wonder what he's got himself into this time," the older man muttered as he once again got no response on the samurizers.

"Seriously," Kevin sighed. "That guy's a trouble magnet."

"Guys, he may be a jokester, but Antonio takes this stuff seriously," Emily defended him. "He wouldn't just ignore our calls. He could be in real trouble."

The alarms went off.

"We have to worry about him later," Nina stated. "Right now, we have a Nighlok to stop. And a plan to put into action."

* * *

The rangers had morphed on their way to the city to fight off the Nighlok. The five were hoping that Kevin's plan would work and that Antonio would get the message to come and help them soon. Ji and Jayden said they would keep trying to get a hold of him and send him to them if they could. The rangers stood in the path of the Nighlok as people ran away, not wanting to get hit with an attack.

"You fools again," the Nighlok stood.

"But this time, we're shutting you down, hard," Mike stated.

"Ha!" the Nighlok scoffed. "You just proved how foolish you are, thinking you could win." He rolled himself into a ball and headed for the group of five.

"Time for Kevin's plan, phase one," Nina commanded.

Mike nodded. "First, we'll use his own speed against him." Nina gave the okay, and Emily and Mike drew two symbols. The symbols combined to form a rock wall held together tightly by vines. The Nighlok crashed right into it, causing the wall to crumble on top of him.

"That was stone cold, rangers," he commented.

"Now, phase two," Nina continued. She set her sword on fire as Mia had her fan ready. The Nighlok stood and Mia and Nina combined their attacks, the fire blowing toward the Nighlok. The Nighlok turned so his shell would take the hit, which didn't work out too well for him in the end. "Now phase three."

"On it," Kevin confirmed. He stepped forward and drew his own symbol. "You still can't see the writing on the wall, can you Nighlok?" He sent a tidal wave straight at the Nighlok, engulfing him in water.

The Nighlok laughed. "All you did was clean my indestructible shell. Thanks for the wash."

"You sure that's all we did?" Nina smirked. They could see the shell cracking. "Your armor may be able to handle any single attack..."

"But with the right attacks in the right order," Kevin went on. "Even your armor isn't strong enough."

"First, we softened your shell," Nina explained. "Then we raised its temperature with our enhanced heat and wind attack. Last, the water quickly cooled your hot shell, making it brittle. So now it's time to break your invincible armor for good."

"Impossible!" the Nighlok growled.

"Let's end this shell game," Nina ordered as they all drew their swords.

Kevin agreed. "Time to get cracking!" They all charged the Nighlok, swords drawn. They attacked, hitting him wherever they could when they could.

"Think again, rangers," the Nighlok taunted. "My shell won't break that easily." He fired at them and shot them down. "Ha! Your fancy combo attack can't defeat me! You're even lamer than I thought."

"Guys, I think I can do this," Kevin stood. "If I can get to his shell without him noticing. But Emily, I need your help."

"Whatever you need, I'm there," Emily offered.

"We may only have one shot at this," the blue ranger warned.

Nina handed him the Black Box. "Then take this. Super Samurai mode should give you the powers you need."

"The Black Box," Kevin took it. "Are you sure I'm ready?"

"Finish your plan, Kevin," the orange ranger nodded. "I know you can do it."

"Thanks, Nina," Kevin grinned. "Emily, come with me. And make sure you guys keep this creep occupied."

* * *

The fight was finally over, and the rangers could all relax. Kevin's plan had ended working for the rangers in the long run, and they managed to take down the Nighlok. Kevin used the Super Samurai mode to help them out, and the zord fight didn't take too long either. Antonio hadn't shown up at all during the fight, but Jayden and Ji had managed to figure out where he would be. When the others returned, Jayden and Nina headed back out to bring Antonio back home.

They walked along the docks. "Hey, look, there he is," Nina pointed to where the gold ranger was sitting on his cooler. His fishing pole was set up for fishing, and he had his headphones on blasting music. "Glad he's okay."

"Now I won't feel so bad about giving him grief," Jayden chuckled.

"Hey, you didn't exactly help us either," Nina pointed out.

"Not my fault I got injured," he retorted. "And I meant giving him grief for making us worry about him."

They walked further, but Nina stopped short. "Is that Antonio's morpher?" She bent down and picked up the device.

"Looks like we have to bail him out again," Jayden grinned.

"Five bucks he doesn't even know it's gone," Nina proposed.

"Deal."

The two walked over to Antonio, and Jayden tapped him on the shoulder. Antonio turned around, startled, and removed the headphones. "Oh, hey guys," he smiled.

"I think you dropped something," Nina held out his morpher.

"Whoa, thanks," the fisherman took it, not realizing he had lost it. "Do you have any idea what mentor would do to me if I lost this thing?"

"Yeah, about that," Jayden began. "You didn't check your messages all day, did you?" Antonio flipped open his morpher and saw all the missed messages.

"Thirty four missed calls?" he went wide eyed. "What did I miss?" Jayden and Nina just grinned. "Are you guys all right?"

"Should we make him sweat about it?" Jayden looked to his sister.

Nina looked at Antonio and smiled before starting away. "Definitely." Jayden laughed and followed her.

"Hey, hey guys? What happened?" Antonio demanded, trying to catch up. "Come on! You can't just leave me hanging here!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry if it's a bit short, and sorry if it's a bit crappy. Definitely not one of the finer chapters. I'm skipping "Trading Places" and going right into "Clash of the Red Rangers."

Also, this story is now part of a series. Next chapter will have something to do with that, so more info is on my profile. As I think I said before, this story is now part of a series. And I have the next three chapters of this written, but I'm stuck on the one after that.


	28. Clash of the Red Rangers Part I

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 28: Clash of the Red Rangers**

**Part I**

_A/N: So I did decide to do this special after all, mainly because I turned this story into a series (or trilogy), and RPM is involved in the third story. That being said, RPM is not in another dimension, but rather in the future. Also, I've changed the ending of this story so that it'll give the HOA characters a way to know why Nina really did leave. I promise that in the chapter after the next, I will include more HOA characters. It's kind of hard to place them in chapters that are meant to take place during the summer when no one is in school. When I get to the episode The Bullzord, it'll be school session again for the HOA kids. _

_Since I have RPM in the future and not a different dimension, when a section switches years, I will put the year number. So if the section is based on samurai, it will be 2012, and if it involves RPM in their time, it will be 2038, until otherwise written. _

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally part of any show._

* * *

_2012_

It was almost the end of summer, and there hadn't been much more attacks since the shell Nighlok. There had been one with a Nighlok by the name of Switchbeast, who switched people with inanimate objects. Mike and Emily were the only ones who weren't affected by his attacks. The Nighlok had ended up turning Jayden into a gnome, Mia into a fan, Kevin into the ballerina in a music box, Antonio into a fish, and Nina into teapot. Mike and Emily had thankfully freed them.

The week after, Antonio was afraid to fight because of almost being eaten by the stray cat that had wandered into the house. Ji managed to get him over his fear and he was set to fight with the others. Following that, Antonio and Ji spent time working on the new Light Zord, which resulted in the two getting kidnapped and the others rescuing them. They gained a new zord and managed to get everything how it should've been. The only thing that would take a while to take down was the new villain, Serrator, who was helping Master Xandred.

With some free time now on her hands, Nina found herself sitting inside her bedroom, staring at her laptop. She wanted to video chat with one of her friends, but from the looks of it, none of them were online at the moment. While she waited, she picked up the book she had been reading and continued to read it. The others were elsewhere doing their own thing, since Ji had given them time off yet again. Jayden was now able to fight again, no longer in a cast.

Nina was brought back to reality when she heard an alarm on her laptop going off, indicating she had a request for a video chat. Smiling as she read the name, she clicked the button to accept it and watched as a familiar blonde popped up, grinning wide. _"Nina!" _she shouted. _"It's been so long!"_

"I know, Amber," Nina couldn't help but chuckle. "It's been rather busy here, lately. I still send you all emails, though."

"_Yeah, but it's not the same,"_ Amber whined. _"Patricia told me that she and Eddie saw you while she was visiting him and that the city you live in has been under monster attacks. Is it true?"_

"Yep," the dirty blonde nodded. "I was trying to get away so I wouldn't be caught up in the attack. These monsters don't care who they end up hurting."

Amber sighed. _"It must be so scary to have to do that every day."_

"It can be," Nina bit her lip. "But you get used to it after a while."

"_Just like you get used to the antics of Sibuna," _Amber agreed. _"Do you miss it?"_

"Sometimes," Nina moved her hand to clutch her locket. "Who knows? Maybe there's another mystery or two out there that needs solving?"

"_Wouldn't be the same without you, though," _the blonde pointed out. _"After all, you are the Chosen One."_

Nina chuckled. "Yeah, I am. But if there is, then we can get through it, whether I'm there or not."

"_So are you coming back for the first semester of this year?" _Amber wondered, hope filling her voice.

"Not the first one, but hopefully the second one," Nina replied. "My gran still wants me here until the monsters are gone, but she told me that no matter what, she'll let me go back there for enough of the second semester so I can graduate with you all."

Before Amber could reply, Nina heard the Gap Sensor go off. _"What's that noise?" _

"Just a video game one of my new housemates is playing," Nina lied. "I should probably go. I'll talk to you soon Amber."

Nina closed the computer before the blonde could protest.

Amber frowned as the chat was cut short. Something was going on, and she was determined to find out.

* * *

The Gap Sensor had gone off and alerted the rangers to an attack in the city. They were already morphed by the time they arrived, and the fight didn't take long at all. They managed to stop the Nighlok for the moment, and Antonio had even joined them before going back to the docks to fish. While he did that, the others headed out for ice cream, everyone but Kevin getting a cone. The six walked along the sidewalks, talking about random things.

"Kev, we beat the Nighlok," Mike laughed. "This is a celebration."

"I am celebrating, Mike," Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you get ice cream like the rest of us?" Mike wondered.

"Mike, stop picking on him," Emily admonished, an amused grin present on her face.

"But he's eating veggies!" Mike shouted.

Kevin rolled his eyes at the green ranger. "I've been feeling a little sluggish lately, Mike. So it's back to a strict samurai diet."

"Wouldn't you rather have mint chip?" Mike teased.

"Look out!" Nina shouted, pulling the boys back before they got hit by a car. The car had dropped down front first from the bridge above. Kevin fell on his ass as the others stumbled back a bit.

Mia looked up on the bridge. "Up there!"

* * *

Up on the bridge, the six rangers found strange looking creatures they had never seen before. They looked almost like robots, but they weren't too sure. The only thing they definitely knew was that these creatures were not moogers and that they had to be stopped before they did any more damage. Everyone realized that they must've been the reason the car nearly dropped on them. Construction workers were fleeing the area.

"Nighlok with lasers?" Emily frowned.

"Those steam punks aren't Nighlok," Mike shook his head.

"They're machines," Kevin added. "That explains the sound."

"Either way, we need to stop them," Jayden ordered.

They all pulled out their samurizers. "Samurizer, go go samurai!"

"Let's see just how tough these robots are," Nina huffed as they all drew their swords. The creatures charged them, causing the rangers to do the same. They split up into six groups, separating the creatures and attempting to take them down. Their technique didn't seem to be doing much to help them.

"These things are tougher than moogers," Kevin groaned.

"That just means we'll have to kick it up a notch," Mike stated. "They're all wearing armor."

"They aren't wearing armor," Emily corrected. "They are armor!"

Mia was struggling a bit. "No matter how many hits I land, these things won't go down!"

"Remember," Jayden called. "Never give up!" Out of nowhere, more lasers in red and pink flew by the rangers, hitting the creatures and knocking them down. They turned to see two more rangers, one red and one pink, wearing different ranger uniforms and holding blasters that looked like gas pumps.

"Why, hello there," the red one greeted.

"More rangers?" Nina frowned, standing beside her brother.

"They're made of metal," the new red ranger continued. "So your swords won't cut it. But watch this. Nitro blaster!" The red one jumped in the air and fired at the creatures.

The pink one face palmed before joining her partner, muttering something that the others couldn't hear. The samurai continued to defend themselves from the creatures while the two new rangers kept firing at the creatures, taking them down. Whatever they were doing seemed to be working, and it had the samurai rangers even more confused as to what exactly was going on. All they knew was that these new rangers weren't samurai, and it had yet to be determined if they were friend or foe.

When the creatures were finally all gone, the samurai dropped their morph and turned their attention to the new rangers. The pink one smacked her partner upside the head and muttered something about his stupidity, causing the samurai rangers to become more confused. "Who are you?" Jayden asked.

"Well, we're power rangers," the pink one shrugged, seeming to be more polite than the red one. "Just like you guys."

"But where we come from, they call me Ranger Red," the red one smirked. The two stepped forward. "What? Oh. You're mad because I took out those grinders for you. Well, they're robots from our time. I wasn't sure if you're old-school swords could handle them."

"Please forgive his rudeness," the pink one smacked him upside the head again. "He likes to let his ego get the better of him." The samurai were pretty sure that the red ranger was glaring at her, despite not being able to see his face. "I'm Bailey, and he's Scott. Pleased to meet you," she held out her hand, which Jayden shook.

"I'm not sure we'll have met until I can look you in the eyes," Jayden spoke.

The two rangers shared a look before Scott spoke. "Uh…not right now. We have our reasons."

"Jayden," Kevin whispered to the red ranger, Mike listening in as well. "A lot's been going on today. I don't think we can just trust them."

"You say you come from another time," Jayden continued, speaking to the two. "So how did you get here?"

Before they could answer, the girls cut in. "Enough already," Nina stopped the boys. "They're obviously friends. They can tell us everything when they get home." The three began dragging the two new rangers away, Nina in the middle with Emily on the other side of Scott and Mia on the other side of Bailey.

"Yeah, I'll cook something for you," Mia added.

The three guys shared looks before following.

* * *

After arriving at the Shiba house, the girls led the two new rangers inside, Scott making a comment about Ji's motorcycle on their way in. The boys were still following them, Ji curious as to what was going on and who the newcomers were. Once inside, the girls let go of the rangers' arms and Mia left to go get started on lunch. "What in the world?" Scott frowned as he got a look around. "Uh…you guys really do live a Spartan life, don't you? No TV, no video games…interesting. You guys really are about being old school."

"Old school?" Kevin looked offended. "Are you aware at all that you were this close to cutting off my head?"

"All right," Jayden cut in. "Scott, cut to the chase. Educate us.

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "Why don't you both demorph, make yourselves at home, and tell us about yourselves?"

"Okay," Bailey shrugged. "We're here to hunt down a robot by the name of Professor Cog. He's looking for a way to wipe out the last people left in our time, but to answer your question, we can't demorph."

"We don't know if we can breathe the air here," Scott stated. "In our time, we've been forced to live in a domed city just to avoid the toxic atmosphere the robots have created."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "I also can't demorph because it will reveal things that could cause the future to change from what we know it as."

"It's been a long day," Scott sighed. "So, I'd appreciate some privacy. Is there somewhere I can go?"

"Yea, sure," Jayden answered. "There's a spare room down the hall."

"Thanks," the other red ranger thanked before heading off down the hallway. Bailey remained with the others.

"Once again, I apologize for his rudeness," she commented. "He's usually not like this. The rude part, I mean."

"I feel so bad for you guys," Emily muttered. "Must be awful, having to live like that."

Mike stepped up beside her. "I still don't trust him. And I don't like the way he looks at you." Jayden, Kevin, and Nina could help but smirk.

"He's wearing a helmet," Emily pointed out. "How could you tell?"

"I could just tell," Mike scoffed.

* * *

Much to the samurai rangers' displeasure, Mia had ended up making lunch. They all knew how bad of a cook she was, and none of them wanted to say anything. Scott hadn't been seen since he walked away to the spare room earlier, and Bailey had spent time answering as much questions as she could without giving away too much. At the moment, all the samurai aside from Antonio sat in the kitchen, Bailey joining them.

Bailey watched as the samurai picked at their food and had yet to take a single bite, Mia at the stove cooking. Mia walked over to the counter with another bowl in her hands and spotted Scott in the doorway. "Hey Scott," she called. "Come and eat." They all turned to look at him.

"Here," Mike held a forkful of food out. "Have some."

"Mike," Emily pulled his hand down. "Be nice." Scott said nothing and walked away.

"Guess he'd rather starve," Mike scoffed.

Bailey shook her head. "It's not that. The suits are designed so that when we're in morph, we don't feel the need to eat, sleep, drink, or go to the bathroom. Doesn't mean we don't get tired in battle and lose energy, but we're just wide awake and full when we're in morph. I forget who said that the suits were like that, but it was a former ranger."

"It does make sense," Nina mused.

"That is genius though," Mike spoke quietly to the others so Mia wouldn't hear. "From now on, when Mia cooks, I'm wearing my helmet."

All of a sudden, the Gap Sensor went off.

* * *

There had been no signs of a Nighlok in the city, but there was still something weird going on. Ji told them to head for the waterfront and handle whatever the problem was. Scott seemed to have already known where the disturbance would be, since they all heard him taking off on Ji's motorcycle. That caused Bailey to once again apologize for her teammate's behavior and accompany the rangers on their way to the fight.

By the time they arrived, Scott was facing off Professor Cog. Bailey sighed and ran to help her teammate before he did something stupid. Antonio caught up to the samurai and stood confused. "Hey guys, check it out!" he pointed to the RPM rangers.

"Sorry we're late," Jayden apologized.

"Who are these guys?" Antonio asked. "What's going on?"

"Fight now, talk later," Nina ordered. The samurai charged with swords ready, helping the other two rangers take on the robot.

Jayden and the robot clashed swords. "So you're working with the Nighlok?"

"Yes," Professor Cog replied. "We have a deal. It involves you." He flung Jayden back, and all nine rangers present circled around the robot. "And after you're destroyed, the human population of this world will be squashed like grapes. Ask Ranger Red."

"Shut up motor mouth!" Scott shouted before charging. Professor Cog went through the circle of rangers, knocking them back every time one tried to come near them. The robot knocked the two RPM rangers back before shooting at the samurai rangers, knocking them down as well. Scott and Bailey went to attack Cog again, double teaming against him.

Professor Cog fired at Scott, hitting him with a different weapon. Scott was hit and shot back, landing near Jayden. Jayden stood and stopped Scott from rushing forward again. "Wait. What are hypno-bolts? How do you feel?"

"Like fighting," Scott huffed. The other rangers were trying to get up themselves.

"Ranger Red," Professor Cog spoke. "You never seem to know when you're beat."

"It's simple," Scott shrugged. "I'm not beat. That's what you tin cans don't get. I'm a Power Ranger. I'll never give up!" He charged, only to be hit with the bolts again. Jayden stood only to be hit with the bolts as well. Both boys landed near the water.

"You're a pest, Ranger Red," Professor Cog walked toward them. "I made a deal to get rid of the Samurai Rangers. Sending you away is a bonus." He opened up a portal.

"A wormhole!" Scott's eyes widened. "That'll send us back to my time."

The other six samurai and Bailey stopped the attack from hitting the boys, holding it back with their swords.

"We got this," Kevin assured.

"it's up to you," Mia added.

"Just kill the Professor!" Mike groaned.

"Now go!" Antonio urged. A glow of red shone from around Nina and Bailey's neck, causing the two girls to look down at where it was coming from in confusion. Before they knew it, the two girls were being thrown back into the water, screaming. This caused the others holding back the wormhole to be sucked into it and the two red rangers to also go flying into the water.

No one was left on the battlefield except for four soaked rangers, trying to get out of the water.

* * *

A/N: Here is a good place to end this. What'll happen next? Who exactly is Bailey? What was the red glow?

Also, I have finished writing this story and have started on the sequel, so hopefully that'll go over well.


	29. Clash of the Red Rangers Part II

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 29: Clash of the Red Rangers**

**Part II**

_A/N: Last time, the rangers met two rangers from the future, both who are fighting off robots. The one they were fighting traveled back in time and made a deal with the Nighlok. During the fight, Scott and Jayden were hit with some sort of strange bolt. Mia, Kevin, Antonio, Mike, and Emily were sucked into a wormhole that sent them to the RPM era. Bailey and Nina were thrown into the water by something they both possess. What'll happen now?_

_Also, this chapter might contain spoilers for the third story involved in this series._

**_FYI:_ **_So, I've seen some writers starting to do this or have already done this, and I decided to do it as well to see how it goes. I've created a twitter specifically for my fics, so if any of my readers would like to hear about updates, when I should be posting something, or other stuff, go ahead and follow me. You can find me at** dandelion6571.** _

_Plus, if you enjoy House Of Anubis, I highly recommend you check out the story **Scarred **by **Definition of a Writer, **and the stories **Lost & Found **and **Don't Be Afraid **by **Smiley612. **Those stories are all beautifully written, and for you HOA fans that have yet to read them, I recommend them. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ I only own things not originally in either show._

* * *

_2012_

The battlefield at the waterfront was left empty after Mia, Mike, Kevin, Emily, and Antonio vanished into the wormhole. Had Nina and Bailey not been blown back from it by some odd force, they might have been able to prevent the mishap. Professor Cog was gone from the field when Jayden and Scott emerged from the water, helping the two girls up and out. Out of all four of them, Scott was the only one to maintain his morph. Bailey had lost hers.

"Nina, are you okay?" Jayden asked, checking on his sister.

"I'm fine," she coughed, trying to catch her breath. "What just happened?"

"I don't know," Jayden breathed. Bailey, having realized she was no longer in morph, dug out a mask from her pocket and pulled it over her head, concealing her face before Jayden and Nina could get a good look at it. Scott was checking up on her, making sure she was all right. "The wormhole sucked up the others, and you and Bailey were blown back by some other force."

Bailey agreed. "There's something odd going on, more than usual."

"Your team," Scott spoke up. "They sacrificed themselves."

"Yes," Jayden replied. "They protect us because they think we're the key to stopping Master Xandred."

"Oh, wow," Scott scoffed. "You are pretty full of yourself, aren't you?"

"No, it's not like that," Jayden denied. "And before you make judgments, take a look at yourself." It was silent for a moment.

Nina decided to break that silence. "Do you think Professor Cog sent our team to your time?"

"That's a safe bet," Bailey confirmed. "If they're there, our team will help them, no doubt."

* * *

_2038_

Emily, Mia, Mike, Antonio, and Kevin all landed on the ground with a thud. When they looked up, they noticed they were in a garage type room of sorts and that there were six people staring at them, wondering who they were and where they came from. They heard voices far away talking about them, and one voice that reached their ears seemed vaguely familiar. The blonde female of the group before the rangers made the first gesture.

"Here," she offered her hand, helping the five up. Once the samurai were all on their feet, she continued. "I'm Summer, yellow RPM ranger. You guys are…?"

"Kevin," the blue ranger took the lead. "Blue samurai ranger. I believe your teammates Scott and Bailey traveled back to our time to take down some robot."

"Told you!" the vaguely familiar voice shouted in triumph. The RPM rangers rolled their eyes.

The two dressed in silver and gold spoke. "How are…"

"…they doing…"

"…are they going…"

"…to be okay?"

The five samurai just stared at the two, confused as to what exactly they said.

"How is it that Bailey and Dr. K are the only ones who seem to understand you two?" the green RPM ranger groaned. "I'm Ziggy," he added for the newcomers. "They're Gem and Gemma. The guy in blue is Flynn, and the guy in black pretending to not know us is Dillon."

"I'm Emily," the earth samurai stepped forward. "This is Mia, Mike, and Antonio," she motioned to the four who hadn't been introduced yet. "Do you guys think you could help us get home?"

Summer nodded. "I'm sure we can work something out."

* * *

_2012_

On their way back to the Shiba House, the two girls sensed a sudden change in Scott and Jayden. Both boys seemed angrier at one another, but at what, they weren't sure. Nina and Bailey trailed behind, the latter still wearing a mask. By the time they finally reached the Shiba house, night was beginning to fall. Jayden and Scott stormed in first, heading in opposite directions after yelling what happened to Ji. After greeting the mentor, the two girls headed for the kitchen, both feeling hungry.

"Maybe now that the fight's over for a moment, you can tell me a bit more about your team," Nina suggested as Bailey took a seat at the counter. Nina dug through the cabinets, trying to find something to make for dinner.

"My mother and father are both sort of the mentors, but our real mentor is also the one who created our villain," Bailey shrugged. "As far as teammates go, I have Scott, obviously. Then there's Summer, heiress to the Landsdown fortune."

"Aren't they like, the richest people on the planet or starting to become that way?" Nina frowned.

Bailey nodded. "There's Flynn, the main mechanic and he's Scottish, so he has an accent, like my dad. My dad has a different accent, though. I take after his, but I can mimic my mom's, which I'm doing right now. Then there's Ziggy, the team clown. Dillon is the resident bad boy, which might also be partly because he's a hybrid."

"Hybrid?" Nina raised an eyebrow, throwing some chicken nuggets in the oven.

"He has Venjix – our bad guy – technology inside him," Bailey explained. "He's basically half human, half robot. Finally, there's the twins, very boom-happy. Gem and Gemma love explosions and blowing things up. They're also very hyper."

"Sounds like a good crowd," Nina mused. "Do you have any idea what the glowing thing was that happened earlier to us?"

"One," Bailey bit her lip. "And I know I'm going to have to explain it, which means also revealing to you who I _really _am, but I suppose that as long you're the only one who knows, it won't do much."

Nina seemed to be in thought about it. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to."

"No, but it would make explaining this," the pink RPM ranger dug out an object hanging around her neck. "Much easier."

Nina gasped when she recognized what the girl was holding.

* * *

"Unbelievable," Jayden muttered as he, Nina, and Ji looked over the map. Bailey was there with them, back in full morph after her powers had recharged themselves. Nina was the only one to know who she really was, and it had surprised her, to say the least. Many things were showing up on the map that indicated trouble, and it was something none of them ever expected before.

"If I didn't know any better," Ji commented. "I'd think the map was malfunctioning."

"So many of them," Nina breathed.

"A major Nighlok force has gathered," Ji continued as Scott entered the room. "This doesn't look good."

Jayden nodded. "We've got it."

"It's a piece of cake," Scott agreed. Ji looked at him. "Oh, piece of cake for me. For him… not so sure."

"See you later, buddy," Jayden moved to head out. The two red rangers moved to leave, Jayden ahead of Scott. The girls and Ji shared looks as the guys left, Scott once again stealing Ji's motorcycle. Before they could do anything to go help, the Gap Sensor went off, indicating another attack.

"It's at the opposite end of town," Ji noticed. "Think you girls can handle it?"

"No problem," Bailey nodded.

Nina agreed. "If the others get back, send them to Jayden and Scott. They'll need more help than we will." The two girls got up and ran out, Nina morphing on the way.

* * *

Nina and Bailey found themselves at the opposite end of the city, far away from where the boys had to go fight. Neither girl was sure of what exactly the boys' problem was, but they figured it must've had something to do with Professor Cog's attack. At the moment, the girls found nothing but moogers and grinders terrorizing people. "You get the grinders, I get the moogers," Nina ordered. Bailey nodded, and they set off.

Nina drew all the moogers to herself, using her sword to help take them down and trick them. She refrained from using other powers at the moment, wanting to do as much as she could before she would resort to lighting her sword on fire or using her fire chucks. After taking out a few more moogers, she lit her sword on fire and swung, eliminating the rest of them. Before she could do anything else, she felt something hit the back of her head, hard, and she blacked out.

Bailey had her sword out fighting off the grinders. She herself found it a little odd that a group of grinders and moogers were out on the opposite end from the main attack. Something inside told her that this was a trap, and that she and Nina had fallen right into it. However, she didn't have time to think about that as the grinders seemed to keep coming. Taking out her blaster, she fired at each grinder, destroying it. When the last one was destroyed, she looked around and saw Nina was no longer there.

"Uh-oh," she muttered, spotting the orange ranger's samurizer on the ground. She picked it up and flipped it open, trying think of what the best thing to do would be. Finally making a decision, she began tracing a symbol. "So glad I inherited mom's powers."

* * *

Scott and Jayden's plan had worked. After Ji had figured out what was wrong with the two and corrected it, the boys devised a plan to trick the monsters into thinking their idea was working. Nina and Bailey hadn't been clued in, since they would need their reactions to be as real as possible. The boys had just crushed Professor Cog's hopes in seeing them destroy each other. Moogers and grinders littered the field, and so did a couple of Nighlok monsters along with Professor Cog. Both boys were wondering where Nina and Bailey were, surprised they hadn't joined them.

At the moment, Scott was driving a red mustang around the quarry, Jayden standing on the back and taking down the moogers that were riding the grinders. A few grinders had turned into bikes for the moogers to ride, and that's exactly what they were doing. One of the Nighlok monsters was attacking them as well, but they were dealing with it. Each time they drove past a mooger on a grinder, Jayden cut them down to size. Jayden flipped off the car to destroy the last three, hopping into the car again before the Nighlok monster could injure him. Jayden, using Scott's blaster, stopped the attack.

Scott and Jayden stood on the ground, the car forgotten for the moment. "Rangers," Professor Cog gained their attention. "It's your turn." He fired the bolts at them, but they ducked and rolled out of the way.

"Scott," Jayden called, tossing him a disk. "One use only. From Mentor."

"Thanks," Scott stood. "You know, for an old guy, Mentor's got some pretty cool moves." Scott went into Shark Attack mode while Jayden used the Black Box to upgrade his suit. Together, they attacked Professor Cog and sent him toward the injured Nighlok. A strange noise caught their attention. "Jayden, do you hear that?" They looked up to see a wormhole right before the missing samurai appeared on either side of the red rangers.

"Good timing, guys," Jayden commented.

"So, you missed us?" Mike asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Kevin spoke up next. "Took us a while to reverse the vortex."

"Scott, your team says hi," Emily added in.

The Nighlok monster charged once more, and the fight was on.

* * *

With the fight over for good, it was time for Bailey and Scott to leave. Things between the rangers were on good terms, and Bailey had yet to say what happened to Nina. Bailey had appeared in the middle of the fight, not giving answers as to what took her so long to get there and where Nina was. Now that she and Scott were leaving, it seemed like the ideal time to tell them the truth. The fight had been long and hard, but they did it, and now the samurai were curious as to where Nina was.

They were currently at the train station, the train apparently having been the RPM rangers' way there and home. "Well, it's time for us to take the fight against evil back to our own time," Scott sighed.

"Thank you," Jayden shook his hand. "For helping us save the city."

"No," Scott chuckled. "Thank you. Look, if Professor Cog had succeeded, our time would've been in big trouble, and we probably wouldn't have existed. That's pretty good, even if you are tragically old school."

"Before you guys go," Jayden continued. "You wouldn't happen to know where Nina is, would you?"

Bailey bit her lip, pulling out Nina's samurizer. "While you two boys headed to the big fight, more moogers and grinders showed up across town. Ji sent us to take care of them, and once they were all gone, Nina wasn't in sight and this was left." Jayden took the samurizer, frowning. This wasn't going to end well. "No idea where she is, but I know you'll find her." A bell rang.

"Well, it's time to go," Scott sighed. He and Bailey moved to enter the train.

"Say hi to your team for us," Emily waved, and Mike went to talk to Scott. The others couldn't hear what they were talking about, but from the looks of it, Mike seemed a bit surprised by something they said. The train doors closed and it sped off,

"So…what'd he say?" Kevin asked.

Mike shrugged. "Oh, nothing. He just opened my eyes."

"Come on," Mia spoke up. "Let's go home. I'll cook dinner and we can get started on the search for Nina."

The others internally groaned at the first part, and Jayden became worried.

* * *

A/N: So this is the end of the Red Rangers arc. Who exactly is Bailey? Where is Nina? What'll happen next?

Also, I know I updated this yesterday, but I felt like giving an update on this today as well.


	30. The Bullzord

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 30: The Bullzord**

_A/N: Last time, Bailey and Scott helped the samurai defeat Professor Cog and the other Nighlok in that huge fight. Nina went missing, and the only thing that could help the rangers track her is with them. No one knows where she went, but her other friends will find her. It's now the month of September in this story, and it won't be long before the story is over. There's going to be roughly 10-14 more chapters or so._

_Let's get on with this, shall we? Also, this chapter is going to be more HOA centric. _

_This story is no longer on a schedule for when it will be updated. It will be updated once or twice a week._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

A week after the team up with the two RPM rangers, things hadn't been going smoothly. Most of the week had been spent searching for Nina on the samurai rangers' part, but since the only way of actually tracking her was with them, they had no clue of even where to begin searching. This past week had done nothing to help them and they were nowhere near close to finding Nina.

However, in England, one boy did know where she was and how to find her. He only hoped that the return to the boarding school would help him get there faster. Eddie couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as the cab pulled up to the school. He failed to see Fabian waiting for the cab, hoping it was Nina inside. He opened the door, thinking Nina was there only to be surprised when he saw Eddie hop out.

"Hey dude," the American grinned.

"You're not Nina," Fabian observed.

"Yeah, not last time I checked," Eddie agreed. "How you doing roomie?" Fabian shut the door of the cab, and Eddie had a brief exchange with his dad. The two boys began heading for Anubis house.

"So, did you see Nina, or is she still…" the science geek let the sentence hang, knowing Eddie would understand.

Eddie bit his lip. "She's still fighting. But there's a problem with it."

"What?" Fabian stopped walking, causing Eddie to do the same. "What kind of problem?"

"You know how we're connected because she's the Chosen One and I'm the Osirion?" Eddie asked. Fabian nodded. "Well, over the summer, and even before then, I learned that part of my powers is being able to see things that are going to happen, even if it's right before they do. When Nina came to get the Cup, I saw that in a vision."

"And you had another one of these visions about Nina, didn't you?" Fabian became worried.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it until tonight," Eddie stated. "So just act like you know nothing about whether or not Nina's coming back until after lights out. I gotta warn Patricia too."

"Why Patricia?" Fabian frowned.

Eddie shrugged. "She kinda figured out why Nina left when she was visiting me, and she could help us with this."

"All right," Fabian nodded. He still knew about Nina's stint as a Power Ranger, and he was going to play along like he didn't know anything about it.

A shout from a familiar voice got their attention. "Jerome!" They turned to see Mara running over to Jerome, who had just appeared next to the two boys.

"Playing it cool," Eddie observed, watching the couple. "Not a Brit thing. Come on, Jerry, gross." The two boys did their version of a man-hug as Mara gave Fabian a hug.

"Don't need to ask how your vacation was," Fabian assumed.

"Oh, it was awful," Mara joked. "Wasn't it, Jerome?"

Out of nowhere, Alfie appeared behind them. "Hey guys!" He caught up to them, very excited. "What a day to get stuck in traffic! Trudy's cookies might all be gone! This is disaster of epic proportions!" The four couldn't help but laugh.

"Alfie, haven't you had enough sugar?" Fabian frowned. Alfie picked up his suitcase and made a run for the house, the others following.

* * *

Getting into the house behind Alfie didn't appear to be an easy task. The boy in question quickly set down his luggage and immediately ran for the kitchen, smelling the fresh baked cookies. Pink suitcases littered the floor, indicating that Amber and possibly Joy were already there. As Eddie entered, he couldn't help but call out "Honey, we're home!" Amber and Joy, having heard it, came to the top of the staircase and grinned down at the boys and Mara. They came down and gave everyone hugs.

Trudy walked out of the kitchen and toward the group. "All my lovelies back again," she grinned, going to give them hugs.

"Hi Trudy," Fabian greeted. Remembering what he told Eddie he would do, he made it seem like he didn't know if Nina was coming back. "Where's Nina? Is she here?"

"Not yet," Trudy replied. "When's she due?"

"I'm not sure," Fabian answered. "I tried messaging her, but…"

"That girlfriend of yours is really bad at keeping in touch," Amber stated, forgetting that Nina and Fabian weren't exactly a couple. Eddie shot Fabian a look telling him to keep playing along. "I mean, we did video chat last week, and I think she said something about not coming back until next term, but I don't remember much."

"Well, it's not just me then," Fabian gave her a hug as Eddie moved toward his room.

Alfie walked out, enjoying a cookie. "Alfie!" Amber screamed, running into him to give him a hug. Trudy, Mara, and Jerome went into the living room while Joy and Fabian walked over to Alfie and Amber. Standing in a circle, they grinned.

"Where's Patricia?" Joy frowned, wondering where the auburn haired girl was.

"Someone mention my name?" the girl appeared between Joy and Fabian. As one, the five grinned and covered their right eye with their right hand.

"Sibuna," they whispered.

Victor appeared from the basement. "This is an entrance hall. It is not a meeting room. Move." Joy, Amber, and Alfie headed for the kitchen as Patricia and Fabian headed for the living room.

"Eddie says that there's something going on with Nina," Fabian whispered to her.

"She all right?" Patricia replied.

"He said just act like we know nothing and meet him after lights out," Fabian shrugged. Patricia nodded, agreeing with the idea. They joined the others around the table for the food.

"Hey, I saw your post on that whole fashion show this vacation," Mara spoke to Amber. "Was it amazing?"

"It was fashionating," Amber replied. "And New York is totally amaze. They think I have a special gift."

Alfie turned to Jerome. "Dude, did you get taller or is it just the hair?"

"Thank you Alfie," Jerome muttered as the others laughed. Trudy placed another plate of cookies on the table.

"I missed your peanut butter cookies so much, Trudy," Alfie grinned.

"Did you miss anything else?" Amber asked.

"Um…blueberry muffins," the boy answered. Amber picked up something from a plate and threw it at him, hitting him square in the forehead and causing more laughter. "Ow."

Joy looked at Patricia. "So come on. Eddie? Spill." Patricia walked away to sit on the couch and Joy followed. "The America trip? Where did you go? What did you see? Did you and Eddie bond like super glue?"

"Or trade insults?" Amber added. "Where is Eddie, anyway?"

"No idea," Patricia shrugged. Fabian left to go find his roommate. A few minutes later, the boy returned with Eddie, and the two took seats in the chairs.

"He was in our bedroom," Fabian announced. "Hiding."

"I wasn't hiding," Eddie protested. "What would I be hiding from?"

"Anyway," Joy turned to Fabian. "Fabes, did you get to visit Nina in America?"

Fabian hesitated on answering. "I…never got there. I couldn't afford it."

"And you wonder why she hasn't answered any of your texts," Amber rolled her eyes. "If anyone had treated me like that, game over."

"It just means I'm really looking forward to seeing her," Fabian stated, he, Eddie, and Patricia sharing discreet looks. Trudy walked into the room, Mr. Sweet following.

"Hey look, it's Sweetie," Alfie pointed out. "I mean, uh, Mr. Sweet."

"Trudy, you don't look so good," Joy commented. "Everything okay?"

"Trudy, what's the matter?" Amber pressed.

Mr. Sweet sighed, knowing what he was about to say would crush the students. "Pay attention, please. I have an announcement. I'm afraid some of you may find this rather…bad news."

"What?" Fabian stood, acting like he didn't already know. Everyone stood around him now, Patricia and Eddie acting as well. "What is it?"

"It's regarding…Nina Martin," Mr. Sweet continued.

"What about her?" Patricia kept up the act.

"Tell us!" Fabian demanded.

Mr. Sweet sighed again. "Nina's not coming back." Multiple protests rang through the crowd. Fabian, in attempt to keep up the act, looked crestfallen. "Due to some recent attacks on her hometown, her grandmother has wished for her to stay there, at least until the attacks stop. That is all the information I have. I'm sorry." He rushed out of the room before the students could attack.

"Wait…attacks?" Mara frowned, cutting off all questions. "Didn't she say something about that in those letters she left us when she left last term? And Eddie, didn't you try explaining those attacks?"

"Yeah," Eddie nodded.

"Hold up," Jerome blinked. "You're saying that crap you fed us about aliens was true? That they really are attacking Nina's hometown?" Once again, Eddie nodded.

"I can agree to that," Patricia added. "We actually saw one when we ran errands for his mom." She pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture she managed to take of one. "See?" She passed the phone around.

Eyes widened as each new set got a good look at the picture. "Okay, so when will these attacks end?" Alfie asked. Amber had the answer.

"Nina told me last week on a video chat that she would try to come back for next term," she supplied. "Whether the attacks were done or not. So really, it's only this term she won't be here for."

* * *

Once night fell, Eddie met Fabian and Patricia outside in the clearing in the woods. Patricia had told him about some Sibuna things over the summer, since he was technically a Sibuna member because of him being the Osirion. Everyone had taken the news of Nina not coming back differently, and they all hated the fact she wouldn't be coming back until at least next term. The others found out that Eddie and Patricia had decided to break up, but they never said why. Eddie also ended up running into their new housemate, KT, and it didn't seem like it was going to be a good year.

"So what's the deal?" Fabian asked once they were all there. "What did you see about Nina?"

"I saw this earlier in the week, but I had no way of getting to her until now," Eddie sighed. "I saw her trapped in a warehouse, one that you guys might be familiar with. She was unconscious, and that's all I know."

"How do you know this is accurate?" Patricia frowned.

"Because when the school was attacked the first time by those creatures, I saw that it was going to happen the same way I saw this," Eddie stated. "We might want to move quickly to make sure that she's all right."

"You said she was in the warehouse, right?" Fabian wondered. Eddie nodded. "Then that's where we'll go."

* * *

When they appeared at the warehouse, the three made sure to sneak around, unsure if whoever brought Nina here was still lurking about. The three poked their heads around the corner to see a black car familiar to two of them. The boys pulled back and Patricia kept watching, before gasping and pulling back as she saw a familiar figure emerge from the building. "What is it?" Eddie demanded, seeing her become frightened.

"It's Rufus," Patricia replied.

"What?" Fabian hissed. "How? I thought he was sent to the afterlife?"

"I have a theory," Eddie mused. "It's possible that the Nighlok Nina is fighting brought him back somehow and are using him to try and get the cup and elixir from her."

"Hide!" Patricia urged, as she saw the black car start to back away. The three ducked behind the wall, hoping Rufus didn't see them as he drove by. When the coast was clear, Patricia led them out toward the door, which was closed and locked. Before Patricia turned to ask if either of the boys could pick the lock, a loud growling cut her off. "You two heard that, right?"

Fabian nodded, confused. "Sounded like a cat."

"Are you sure Nina's in here?" Patricia raised an eyebrow at Eddie. The boy nodded and moved to pick the lock. He heard something click, and he pushed the door open. In front of the three was an ocelot, wearing Nina's locket and growling at them for a moment. When it looked like the giant cat had registered who they were, it calmed down and walked to them, brushing against their legs.

"What's going on?" Fabian frowned, turning to the American, hoping he would have an answer.

"No idea," Eddie huffed. They bent down to the cat's level, and they could have sworn the cat rolled it's eyes at the three. "It's wearing Nina's locket, so…maybe this is Nina?" To their surprise, the ocelot nodded. "We should get out of here."

As if to show agreement, the ocelot ran out, the three students following. They chased the cat into the woods, heading for the Sibuna clearing. When the three reached the clearing, they all gasped at what they saw. There the ocelot was, only it looked like it was turning back into a human. The process stopped, and the human stood, revealing Nina. The dirty blonde spotted the three and frowned. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Rescuing you," Patricia scoffed, walking forward to give the girl a hug. "Eddie told us he had some weird vision of you in the warehouse. We go there, find some giant cat, chase it here, and see you turn back into you." She then paused. "Never thought I'd ever say something like _that._"

"So…I'm in England?" Nina frowned.

"Yeah," Fabian nodded. "First day of school is tomorrow. Mr. Sweet told us you wouldn't be returning this year."

"Oh, I plan to at least try and make it back for next term," Nina vowed. "Thanks, guys. But how am I gonna get home?"

"We could hide you in the tunnels until you get a way home," Patricia suggested.

"And how will getting food and water down to me work?" Nina raised an eyebrow.

Eddie shrugged. "We'll figure it out. Is there someone you can call?"

"Hand me your phone," Nina held out her hand. Eddie passed it to her and she scrolled through his contacts, trying to find Emily's number. When she did, she dialed it and pressed the phone to her ear.

* * *

Now that the business with the Bullzord was done and over with, the rangers could once again focus on their search for the missing orange ranger. It had been a hectic day for the rangers, when a young boy named Cody had unleashed the Bullzord, and it went on a rampage. Luckily, Jayden managed to tame it and stop the rampage, and they all managed to defeat the Nighlok. They also gained a new power up, which proved to be very helpful.

As soon as they reached the Shiba house, Emily's cell phone went off. The others paused in their step and frowned as the blonde dug it out and answered it. "Eddie…"

"_Nope," _Nina's voice came across the other end. Right away, Emily put the phone on speaker. _"But I am using his phone."_

"Nina, where are you?" Jayden asked, recognizing the voice of his sister.

"_In England," _the orange ranger replied. _"Not sure how I got here or why I'm here, but Eddie, Fabian, and Patricia just rescued me from whatever, and since I can't find my phone, I used Eddie's." _

"Where are you there?" Mia wondered.

Nina took a minute before answering. _"The clearing that I showed Mike when we had to get the cup."_

"I'll go talk to Mentor and see when the earliest flight back is," Jayden moved to the house, trying to find Ji.

"Do you have somewhere to stay until we can get you back home?" Kevin questioned.

"_Yeah," _Nina answered. _"You'll have to fill me in on what I missed. I should probably go, since it's pretty late here."_

"We'll see you when you get back," Emily called, right before hanging up.

The rangers let out a sigh of relief, happy their teammate was okay.

* * *

A/N: So that's that chapter. I included more HOA characters. What'd you guys think of it? Up next is when Mia's brother comes to visit, and Nina's return home. How will that go?


	31. Kevin's Choice

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 31: Kevin's Choice**

_A/N: Well, I had thought about swapping the episodes this chapter and the next one just for it to make more sense, so that's why this is Kevin's Choice and not the episode with Mia's brother. That chapter will be next. Nina isn't going home just yet, but she will be heading home in the next chapter. I just feel she needs to spend some time with the Anubis gang, even if it's only three people who know she's there. So what'll happen? This chapter may be short, and it might be more HOA based than ranger based. I will try to include the rangers in it, though._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Living in the antechamber wasn't exactly the best thing, but at the moment, it was the only safe place for Nina to be. Had she gotten a hotel room, then her housemates would no doubt figure out she was here. Eddie, Patricia, and Fabian had figured out a way to sneak down to see her that didn't require her locket. Of course, it was thanks to Nina's symbol power creating an exact replica of the locket, making it so Eddie, Fabian, and Patricia could come see her.

She had used a lot of symbol power in the week she had been down here, mainly to get change of clothes and save her friends the trouble of sneaking her food. Her friends had a hard enough time visiting her as it was. Sometimes using symbol power helped her create something for when she got bored. After all, the only thing in the chamber for her to use was books, and she had read most of them already.

It was morning once more, as Nina could tell based on the fact that Patricia was in her uniform. The auburn haired girl had decided to visit her this morning, keeping her updated. However, she didn't have very good news for the girl regarding her way home. Patricia sat across from Nina, the two enjoying a breakfast Nina created via symbol power. "So, you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Bad news," Nina sighed. "I've learned that hearing that news first sometimes helps."

"Well," Patricia sighed. "We were checking the flights and stuff to make sure everything for you was set, except the news said the airport you're flying out of was shut down for the week because of some sort of maintenance thing."

"Maintenance thing?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "How does an entire airport shut down for a maintenance thing?"

"Well, the reporters said that was the excuse given, but they suspect there's more," Patricia shrugged. "Good news is that you're stuck here for another week."

"Great," Nina huffed. "Which means I won't be able to do any fighting for a week."

Patricia stopped eating and thought. "What's it like? Fighting monsters, I mean?"

"Tough," Nina chuckled slightly. "A lot of things happen that you think can't happen, the rush of morphing feels…well, it feels great, then there's power ups we unlock, new fighting techniques…"

"You make it sound like a video game," Patricia laughed.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm part of one," Nina agreed.

"Got a picture of your new family?" the other girl wondered. Nina nodded, pulling one up on her samurizer. "Who are they?"

"The guy in green is Mike, the team's jokester," Nina explained. "Kind of like a mix of Alfie and Jerome. Then there's Kevin, who's like a mix of Mara and Fabian, serious and smart. Antonio…he's obsessed with fish, and he sometimes reminds me of Alfie. The girl in yellow is Eddie's cousin, Emily, who you've met. The other girl is Mia, and she's like a smarter version of Amber."

"Obsessed with pink and fairy tales?" Patricia smirked.

Nina nodded. "Yeah, just smarter, not saying that Amber doesn't have her moments. Then the guy in red is my older brother, Jayden."

"You have an older brother?" Patricia went wide eyed. "And he's _hot?" _

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd call someone hot," Nina rolled her eyes. "And yes, he's my brother. Two years older than me, and my sister is two years older than him."

"I remember meeting her," Patricia recalled. "When she stopped by here looking for you last term. Lauren, I think."

"Yeah, that's her," Nina confirmed. "Haven't seen her since I was three."

Patricia sat back a little. "Well, I should probably head to class so I'm not marked late. I'll send Fabian or Eddie to check on you at lunch."

"Have fun," Nina called as Patricia left.

When she was gone, Nina opened her samurizer and called home.

* * *

It was just after the first fight that Jayden got a call on his samurizer. The rangers had just finished a fight where Kevin's samurizer had been eaten by the Nighlok, making it so he couldn't morph. The others were going to start coming up with a plan to get it back so he could join them in the fight. They had just arrived back at the house when the call came. Jayden answered it, knowing it could only be his sister.

"What's up?" he asked, hoping she would say that she's on her way back.

"_There's a slight problem," _Nina sighed.

"What kind of problem?" Jayden frowned. This drew the attention of everyone else.

"_The airport I'm supposed to be flying out of has shut down for a few days, which means any and all flights in and out of there are cancelled."_

"How'd you find that out?" Jayden wondered.

Nina shrugged. _"It was on the news. I'm stuck here for another week unless you can find a symbol."_

"Finding a symbol to transport you back here would take about a week to try and find," Jayden mused. "It would be better to try and get tickets for a different flight as soon as possible."

"_Yeah, unless Ji has some connection with a private plane of sorts," _Nina rolled her eyes. _"And knowing him, he probably does." _

"I'll ask and let you know," Jayden confirmed, hanging up.

"Was that Nina?" Emily asked.

Jayden nodded. "She's stuck there for another week. The airport she's supposed to fly out of is shut down for a few days."

"I may have a connection that could help get her home faster," Ji spoke. "Leave that to me."

* * *

Ji wasn't lying when he said he had connections to someone who might have a way to get Nina back sooner rather than later. He had at least one connection to every ranger team out there from before the samurai. When he met the connections, he explained who he was and how he would eventually be helping a team of rangers when the time for them came. They had all given him some advice on what the rangers might be like, and some mentoring tips. They also said that since he was an ally to the rangers, he was welcome to ask for help any time.

At the moment, Ji was going into San Angeles, where one of his connections lived. Andrew Hartford was the man he was looking for. From what Ji had heard, the man had mentored the Overdrive rangers, one of the few teams to go public with their identities. He had heard that they used a vehicle known as the SHARC to help them get where they needed to if they were headed out of the city, and he was hoping they could borrow it to bring Nina back home. The sooner Nina was back, the better.

When he arrived in the city, he knew exactly where to go. He had already called Andrew Hartford and discussed this on his way over, and the man had been kind enough to lend him the SHARC. Of course, he wouldn't drive it, since he didn't know how to, but thankfully, Andrew had gotten a hold of the Overdrive Yellow Ranger, Ronny Robinson, who was the team's driver. After hearing she had a chance to drive the SHARC again, she agreed with no questions asked.

Ji walked up to the mansion door and was greeted by the butler, Spencer. The older gentleman led him down to the ranger base, where Andrew, Ronny, and two other people were waiting. Andrew turned and saw the two enter. "Ji, Welcome," he greeted. Ji moved to greet him as well. "So, one of your rangers is stuck in England?"

"For another week at least if we waited for plane tickets," Ji nodded. "The sooner we can get her back here, the better. Thank you for your help."

"Told you," Ji heard one of the girls, he assumed it was Ronny, given the fact she was wearing yellow, cheered. "Fork it over, Mack."

"Figures," the boy in red muttered.

Andrew rolled his eyes at their behavior. "So, where in England is she?"

"Her old boarding school," Ji stated. "No idea how she ended up there or why, but she's secretly been living in the basement there for the past week. Three of her friends there know she's there and know she's a ranger, so those are the people to ask."

"Just give me a list of instructions and I'll be good to go," Ronny grinned as the two men moved over to them. "Ronny Robinson. Yellow Overdrive ranger."

"Nice to meet you," Ji nodded. "Would this help?" He handed her a paper with the name of the school, the house Nina lived in, and the three who knew she was currently hiding out at the school. "You may have to come up with some excuse as to why you're there, but I trust you will be able to get her out."

"We got the perfect excuse," the other girl, who Ji recognized as Rose Ortiz, spoke. "Ronny and I are going together to do this. It might be better for two people to go instead of just one."

"You just want to see if the legends are true," Ronny smirked at her friend.

"Legends?" Ji questioned.

This time, it was Mack who answered. "Dad does a lot of research about ancient artifacts, and rumor has it that the Egyptian Cup of Ankh is hidden there and was put together by the Chosen One."

"It's not a legend," Ji assured. "The orange ranger, who is the one you're getting, is the Chosen One."

"Really?" Rose perked up.

"Yes," Ji nodded. "I'm still confused about the whole thing myself, but she did go back to England with two of her teammates to retrieve that and an elixir of life in order to keep it out of danger's way."

"Cool," Mack grinned.

Ronny shrugged. "Well, if we wanna be back by sundown, we better get going now. We'll bring her back."

* * *

Ronny and Rose made it to England in less than an hour with the SHARC. They had parked it in a clearing in the woods near the school, which just so happened to be the same clearing Sibuna used to use. It took the girls a little while to walk out of the woods and find the school grounds. When they did, they made their way around the campus, searching for Anubis House. Finally, they found it, and they stood in front of it, staring at it.

"Wow," Rose gasped, taking in the beauty.

"Come on," Ronny chuckled. "You can geek out at it later. We came here to get Nina, so that's what we'll do." They marched up to the door and knocked. A few minutes later, Trudy answered the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked. They could all hear a crash coming from inside.

"Yes," Rose spoke, taking the lead. "We're actually here to talk to a few students who live here about possible scholarships for colleges they are looking into." That was the excuse they had come up with, and it seemed logical enough, since the students in Anubis House were seniors.

"Oh, please, come in," Trudy stepped aside to let them in. She shut the door behind them. "Which students are you looking for?"

Ronny answered this time. "A Fabian Rutter, Eddie Miller, and Patricia Williamson. Is there somewhere that we could talk to them and not be disturbed?"

"You can talk to them outside, if that'll be easier," Trudy sighed. "I'm afraid that being anywhere in here won't give you much privacy, unless you're in one of the bathrooms. I'll go get them for you."

"Thank you," Rose thanked, and Trudy left to go find the three students they asked for. "Wow this place is amazing! Makes me wish I went to school here."

"Rose, you would've done nothing but research had you come to school here," Ronny laughed.

"So?" the former pink ranger huffed. "It'd be cool to study the history of a place like this."

Trudy reentered the front hall with Patricia, Fabian, and Eddie, all who looked confused. "Here they are. Now, you can just head outside to talk if you need to talk privately. Just make sure they're back in time for dinner."

"Thank you," both girls thanked as Trudy left.

"Who are you?" Patricia demanded once Trudy was gone.

"Just follow us," Ronny ordered.

* * *

"We're here to help get a Nina Martin back home," Ronny stated as soon as the five were outside. The three teens looked at the two rangers a bit confused, still wondering who they were. Eddie looked as though he was trying to figure out where he had seen them before. Fabian and Patricia looked shocked to hear that they knew Nina.

"Who are you people?" Fabian demanded.

"Ronny Robinson, stock car racer," Eddie answered, finally recalling where he saw the two. "And Yellow Overdrive ranger. Rose Ortiz, child prodigy and Pink Overdrive Ranger."

"How did you know that?" Ronny frowned.

"Ron, we don't exactly have secret identities," Rose reminded her. "But how did you know that?"

Eddie bit his lip. "We know Nina's on the current team, which my cousin is the yellow on, and I'm an earth ninja training under the yellow ninja storm guy."

"Alright then," Ronny grinned.

"So why exactly are you two here?" Patricia raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Nina's mentor asked us to take her home," Rose replied. "Since her team needs her help and we have a way of getting her there that doesn't require planes. Where is she?"

"Hiding in the antechamber," Fabian answered. "It'll be hard getting her out of there during daylight, but after lights out..."

"Or we could just tell her to leave using the library entrance," Patricia suggested.

Ronny took her turn to look confused. "So…what's going to happen?"

"Fabian will get Nina and meet us in the old Frobisher library," Eddie declared. "Patricia and I will take you two there."

"Great," Rose smiled. "Let's get going, then."

* * *

After getting Nina out of the tunnels through the library, she, Rose, and Ronny headed back to Panorama City. Nina gave goodbyes to her friends and promised to see them soon. On their way back, Nina explained who she was to the two rangers, and they did the same. When they dropped Nina off in the city, Ji called her to alert her of an attack, which she gladly ran to help.

The fight went how it usually did. They defeated the Nighlok the first time, which gained them Kevin's samurizer. After that, the Nighlok grew, and the rangers went to their zords for help, as usual. As a team, they managed to take down the Nighlok, for good. On their way home, Antonio volunteered to make the celebratory dinner for another victory earned.

"We're so glad you're back," Mia grinned as she, Nina, and Emily walked together to the house. Nina was in between the two girls and they all had their arms looped together. "It was pretty uneventful around here without you."

"So I heard," Nina smiled. "It got pretty boring in the antechamber. You can only explore those tunnels so much before you become bored."

"I can imagine," Emily laughed. "So how did you end up in England, anyway?"

"Don't know," Nina shrugged. "All I remember is fighting off a horde of cogs and moogers with Bailey, feeling something hit me, things going black, and then I'm waking up in a barn in England, and I turn into my ocelot. My friends found me, thankfully."

"Well, you're back now," Mia stated. "And hopefully you won't go away until the Nighlok are gone."

Nina smiled, feeling like she was where she belonged for the moment.

* * *

A/N: So Nina's starting to feel at home in her old town, and is that going to be a good thing or a bad thing? What'll happen next time with Mia's brother coming to town (I wanted Nina to be there for it, which is why this episode and that one were switched). Sorry for lack of fight scenes, but I figured you guys needed another chapter that had a lot of HOA characters, even if it was only three or four featured ones.


	32. He Ain't Heavy Metal, He's My Brother

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 32: He Ain't Heavy Metal, He's My Brother**

_A/N: Last time, Nina got home thanks to a little help from Ronny and Rose. Ji had them help her get back quicker. Nina spent a week living in the antechamber underneath Anubis House, and only Fabian, Patricia, and Eddie knew. Kevin lost his samurizer when a Nighlok ate it, but the others got it back. Now what'll happen when Mia's brother comes to town?_

_Also, I apologize if this chapter is short._

**_New poll on my profile!_**

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

It had been a week since Nina had returned, and she spent most of that week catching up on what she missed and doing more training. Emily and Mia had taken time to fill her in on the two battles she missed, including what she missed of the previous one. They also told her that Dekker was back, and it looked like he was trying to fight Jayden once more.

At the moment, Nina was sparring against Jayden, the two staying inside to do so. Emily, Kevin, and Mia had gone shopping for groceries. Mike was elsewhere in the house, as was Ji. Antonio, as usual, had gone fishing. Mike had just walked into the kitchen for breakfast when he heard soft guitar music. He appeared in the hallway between the indoor dojo and the common room, frowning.

"Hey, where's that guitar music coming from?" he asked, gaining everyone's attention. Jayden and Nina stopped what they were doing and followed him outside. Once there, they found a boy around Emily and Nina's age with black, sort of spiky hair strumming a guitar. Mike cleared his throat, and the boy looked up.

"Hi," Jayden greeted. "Can I help you?"

"Hey guys," the boy stood. "The name's Terry. I'm Mia's brother."

* * *

"You're Mia's brother," Mike grinned as the three rangers led him inside the house. No one there knew that Mia had a brother at all, so it was a bit shocking to the three. Why he was here was a different matter, since the rangers were supposed to avoid physical contact with friends and family until the Nighlok were gone.

"Yup," Terry confirmed. "All my life."

"Well, welcome to the Shiba House," Mike welcomed.

Terry looked around in awe. "Whoa. This is cool. So, where is my sis, anyway?"

"Oh, she went with Kevin and Emily to get some groceries," Nina answered.

"You're not gonna let her cook, are you?" Terry raised an eyebrow.

"No, we've learned that lesson," Mike chuckled.

Terry picked up one of the practice swords. "Sis is good with a blade, as long as it's not a kitchen knife."

"So what brings you to town, Terry?" Jayden asked.

"I'm volunteering at the children's hospital as part of the community service class at my school," Terry replied. "My parents think it'll get me into med school down the road."

"Is there a big demand for guitar playing doctors?" Mike wondered.

"No," Terry sighed. "I'm also trying to put together a concert gig. I was hoping Mia would sing."

"Mia sings?" Nina questioned, a bit surprised by that.

Terry nodded. "She's awesome. When we were kids, we were gonna be the world's greatest band. But, you know…the whole power rangers thing…"

The Gap Sensor went off, indicating an attack.

* * *

After leaving Terry with Ji, Nina, Jayden, and Mike had headed out to the battlefield. They had morphed on their way there. When they arrived, they met up with the others. The boys went inside to deal with the moogers in the classrooms of the school while the girls stayed outside to take them down. The boys knocked the moogers out of the windows, and the girls continued fighting. Thankfully, it was the weekend, meaning nobody was inside the school.

"Let's play a little five on one," Jayden huffed as he took on five moogers. The fight was taken over to the playground.

"Is anyone up for dodge ball?" Antonio called, handling his own set of moogers.

"You guys keep this up," Kevin grumbled. "And I'm gonna have to keep you after school."

Emily slid down the slide, knocking moogers off as she went. "Last one down is a rotten egg."

Mike was fighting over by the monkey bars and Nina finished off her own horde of moogers. "Class dismissed," she breathed. They all ran over to where Mia was just arriving.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized. "But it looks like you handled it." They dropped their morph and began heading home.

"Thanks for the assist, Antonio," Jayden grinned at his friend. "I'm glad you were nearby."

"It's nice to feel needed," Antonio joked.

Nina turned to Mia. "Oh, Mia, speaking of being needed, we're needed back at the house."

"Why?" Kevin asked. "What's going on?"

"Mia's brother," Mike stated. "Dude, you have to meet him. He's like this Zen guitar player."

"My brother?" Mia frowned. "With his guitar?"

Nina nodded. "And he wants you to sing in his band."

"He does?" Mia looked a bit nervous.

"Wait," Antonio ran over to Mia. "Your brother has a rock band? Sweet! I have got to meet him! I'm gonna go grab my guitar, and I'll meet you there in a few." He began running off. "Don't let him leave!"

* * *

After seeing Mia reconnect with her brother, the rangers went off around the house to do their own thing. Nina, despite having just been there a week ago, had decided to video chat with her friends at Anubis House. A couple days ago, she had received an email from Amber saying that the blonde had moved to New York to go to fashion school, so Nina knew she couldn't call her if she wanted to talk to her Anubis friends.

Over in England, Eddie, KT, Patricia, Alfie, and Fabian were in Fabian and Eddie's room, discussing what they had just learned about everything going on so far in the Sibuna world. They had theories, and the boy's room seemed to be the typical meeting spot for them now. They no longer used the clearing in the woods or the girls' rooms, since it was no longer convenient for them to. Just as Eddie was about to say something, they heard his laptop beep, indicating a new video message.

"Who is it?" Patricia asked as Eddie moved to check his computer.

"It's Nina," he frowned, confused as to why she was calling.

"Don't just sit there," Patricia snapped. "Answer it!" KT was confused as Eddie, Patricia, Fabian, and Alfie gathered around the computer, all wanting to talk to Nina. Eddie clicked the answer button, and a minute later, Nina's face appeared on the screen.

"You're alive!" Alfie greeted.

Nina frowned. _"Last time I checked I was." _

"Sweetie told us you can't make it back because of attacks," Alfie continued. KT watched the four, confused. "Are they getting better?"

"_Worse, actually," _Nina sighed. _"But I still hope to be back there for the last half of the year, maybe even before then."_

"So why are you calling?" Patricia asked. "I mean, not that we mind, but…"

"_Had some free time," _Nina shrugged. _"Everyone else here is off doing whatever they want, and I felt like checking up on you guys, and figured a video call was long overdue."_

"According to Amber, it was," Eddie agreed.

Nina smiled. _"Yeah. She told me she moved to New York. Sorry, Alfie."_

"It's alright," Alfie shrugged. "It was probably going to happen sooner or later."

"_So," _the orange ranger went on. _"Any new mysteries yet?"_

"If you mean we reformed Sibuna, then yes," Fabian replied, a smile on his face. Despite seeing her there a week ago, he, Eddie, and Patricia knew they had to keep quiet about it.

"_What are you guys hunting this time?" _Nina raised an eyebrow. _"I mean, the Cup and Mask have already been found, so what else is there?"_

The Sibuna members shared a look before Patricia took the liberty to answer. "We may or may not be trying to perform a ceremony to wake up Robert Frobisher-Smythe. And once again, Victor, Sweet, and the new teacher are trying to do the same and think we have no clue."

"_So…nothing new there," _Nina frowned. _"But waking up Frobisher? Wonder what Sarah would have to say about that."_

"Yeah," Fabian nodded. "Too bad we can't find out, though."

"Unless there's a way to contact ghosts," Alfie suggested, looking as if he had an idea.

"_Yeah, but there's not," _Nina sighed. _"Did I interrupt a Sibuna meeting? I only ask because I meant to say hi to everyone in the house, and the only ones missing that I know are Jerome, Joy, and Mara."_

Eddie answered this time. "Yeah. Doesn't matter, though. We'll pass on the message."

"_Good," _Nina smiled. _"Now, can I talk to Fabian alone for a minute?" _The other three nodded and got up, grabbing KT and leaving the room. When they were gone, Fabian centered himself in front of the camera and smiled.

"Got sick of being back home already?" he asked.

"_Yeah," _Nina agreed. _"Yet it feels like this is my home."_

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Fabian wondered.

"_A couple of things, actually," _she answered. _"The first thing is that I need you to send the amulets to the tunnels to me."_

Fabian looked a little shocked. "Alright, but why?"

"_Where the school's already been attacked twice, I don't want them to attack again and find out about the tunnels. Somehow, the Nighlok are getting smarter, and it scares me to think that if they find the tunnels, they'll figure out the amulets…"_

"And figure out everything else," Fabian concluded. "Yeah, I can send them to you. What else?"

Nina hesitated a moment before replying. _"What are we?"_

"What do you mean?" Fabian frowned, confused.

"_I mean," _Nina continued. _"Are we a couple, or are we just going to stay friends until I get back, or…"_

"Well, I'd like to think we're still a couple," Fabian answered, cutting her off. "I mean, if that's alright with you. I don't care that this whole thing came between us, but I do know that you're worth waiting for to come back. I'm willing to give the long distance with minimal communication thing a shot."

"_It won't be easy," _Nina warned. _"This is probably actually going to be the last chance I get to video chat with you until the Nighlok are gone. The attacks are getting tougher, and sometimes I find myself wondering what would happen if, when the time comes, during the final battle, something happens that prevents me from possibly returning."_

"Like what?" Fabian chanced asking.

Nina bit her lip. _"Our identities being revealed might make it difficult to travel unnoticed, being severely injured so that it's hard to travel, and death are the only things that crossed my mind. All three are possibilities, and I'm only considering what could happen. Like I said, the attacks are getting worse and becoming more frequent. We're getting at least one or two a week, and pretty soon, they'll probably become daily."_

"Nina, listen to me," Fabian instructed. "You guys will destroy them. There's no way you can't. I mean, didn't you tell me after we found the mask that we probably won because the good guys always win?"

"_You're right," _Nina gave him a small smile. _"Thanks, Fabian. I…" _she was cut off as a loud beeping filled the room. _"Dam gap sensor. I gotta go."_

"Good luck," Fabian called as she ended the call. He sighed and shut the laptop.

Whatever happened to things being simple?

* * *

The fight against the Nighlok of the day had taken a bit longer than the rangers expected. At the moment, they were back at the Shiba house, it being night time. They planned on heading to see Terry and Antonio perform, and they had all dressed up a bit to do so. Taking the down the Nighlok went as it usually did, and Mia had her turn to use the super samurai powers. Nina felt better after her talk with her friends, and she could only hope that things would become better soon.

Emily and Nina giggled at the sight of Mike trying to teach Kevin how to dance. Mia walked into the room. "Mia, aren't you coming to the concert?" Emily asked.

"I think I'm just gonna turn in," the pink ranger replied.

"Mia, is there a problem between you and your brother?" Kevin wondered.

"He's supposed to be volunteering at the hospital," she sighed. "Not playing some gig."

Nina decided to speak. "Okay, but after that long battle, we're kinda gonna blow off some steam." She and Emily left the room, Jayden, Mike, and Kevin following.

* * *

The rangers made it to the gig just before the concert started. They did miss the first act, which, judging from the whispers of people in front of them, wasn't even that great. They found empty seats against the back wall and took those. Jayden sat beside his sister, Emily on her other side. Mike and Kevin filled the last two seats. The band was announced, and the crowd cheered. The music began.

To the ranger's surprise, Antonio began singing, and singing pretty well.

"_Got some time to share  
the sun is everywhere  
take my hand  
let's do it together  
shake it up and dance  
take a, take a chance  
it's gonna last  
forever and ever_

_We gonna have some fun  
we gonna get it done  
and jump together now  
we gonna show you how  
we do it right_

_Every day  
all we want to have  
is fun, fun, fun  
fun any way  
so just come and join us  
one by one  
show what you know oh  
yeah yeah  
go oh  
yeah yeah  
no oh  
yeah yeah  
we can't let  
this moment pass  
go oh  
yeah yeah  
no oh  
yeah yeah  
let's just make this party last_

_Now we're breaking free  
everyone can see  
it's our time  
we're grooving together  
shop until we drop  
no we never stop  
Summer fun  
we're having a party _

_All we want is the best  
don't need any regrets  
no, no  
no, no, no, no, no  
being with my friends  
means the world to me  
let's do it like…"_

Just as the chorus began once more, Mia appeared on the stage, joining in with the singing.

"_Every day  
all we want to have  
is fun, fun, fun  
fun any way  
so just come and join us  
one by one  
show what you know oh  
yeah yeah  
go oh  
yeah yeah  
no oh  
yeah yeah  
we can't let  
this moment pass  
go oh  
yeah yeah  
no oh  
yeah yeah  
let's just make this party last."_

The crowd cheered as the song ended, the rangers giving their friends a standing ovation. When the crowd cleared, the rangers made their way backstage to see their friends. They saw Mia was talking to her brother, so they went to see Antonio first. "You guys were awesome," Jayden grinned, getting his attention. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Yeah," Emily agreed as she and Nina hugged the gold ranger. "Look at you, Mr. Rockstar!"

"It was an incredible experience," Antonio grinned. "But…can't beat fishing."

* * *

A/N: Well, ending it here. Once again, sorry for the lack of fighting, but I felt it was time Nina talked to her Anubis housemates, even if the only new one was Alfie. Anyway, not many chapters left in this, and then it's on to the sequel. What'll happen next?


	33. Trust Me

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 33: Trust Me**

_A/N: I know I skipped a couple more episodes, but those are ones I can't find a good place to put Nina in. Anyway, last time, Mia's brother came to visit. Nina and Fabian are going to try the long distance thing and see how that goes. Fabian also sent her the amulets. The other rangers learned that Mia and Antonio could both sing and whatnot, and now they're ready for another adventure._

_What'll happen now? _

_Two reasons I'm posting this chapter now: 1) I planned on updating a few stories tomorrow, but then I realized me and my friend who is like my sister are going to be spending all day getting ready for the Taylor Swift concert, so I won't have time to update. 2) I want to mention a new story idea I got from playing a video game, and it's going to be an odd mashup of monsters that an odd combination of rangers fight off while dealing with two other jobs each. Want more info on what I mean by that? Then look under my profile for a story called **Criminal Heroes. **_

_Thanks for so much reviews on this story! I never expectedd it to get this many!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Within the past week and a half, attacks had become more frequent. The rangers were a little more tired than usual, but they were keeping up with things. It was the beginning of October, and a new month held new surprises. Though no one voiced it, they all knew that the end was slowly coming, and hopefully it would be them who won. There were three attacks since Mia's brother had come to visit a little over a week ago, and the rangers found that unusual.

The first attack went how it normally did. A Nighlok attacked the city and the rangers took it down using whatever they had to use to do so. The following attack had been rather interesting, since all of them but Emily were put under some sort of spell that made them all wanting to keep eating, not stopping. Most of the rangers couldn't even eat anything else for the rest of the day, once the Nighlok was taken down. The last attack was rather amusing for most of the samurai. Kevin and Mike were stuck with both their hands stuck to each other's, and it was amusing to the others to see how they dealt with that. They did free them and the Nighlok was stopped.

Nina and Jayden were becoming tense. They knew the Nighlok were getting stronger, and they knew that the day the others would learn their secret was coming closer. The others knew both were practicing the sealing symbol a lot, or so they believed. Nina really was, and Jayden was helping her when he could. Both were also trying to figure out a way to stop the Nighlok from attacking so much.

The morning started off normal enough until the gap sensor went off. The attack was nowhere in the city, but rather on the small Monalua Island. With no communications, the rangers headed to check it out. Ji had made arrangements for them to get there by boat, and they arrived a couple hours later. "Where did all the people go?" Emily asked as they arrived and were walking the docks.

"That's what we have to find out," Jayden stated. "We better split up into teams."

"Got it," Mike nodded. He tapped Antonio on the shoulder. "Let's go, buddy." The two started walking away.

"I'll go with them to make sure they don't do something stupid," Nina sighed. She took off after the two boys. Mia and Jayden split off into one direction while Emily and Kevin went in another.

* * *

"Why'd you come with us, again?" Mike asked as he, Antonio, and Nina walked around the area, trying to figure out what was wrong. They were walking through the city, banging on doors and trying to get people to come outside. So far, they had nothing. "I mean, not that we don't mind the company, but…"

"Because knowing you two, you'd end up doing something stupid," Nina stated. "You need someone sensible with you."

"Hey!" the two boys defended.

"What?" she shrugged innocently. "It's true."

Their samurizers went off, and Antonio answered his first. "What's up?"

"_Some kind of ash fell from the sky," _Kevin spoke. _"And when it landed on the people, they all got super scared. The ash is coming from the mountain."_

"_All right," _Jayden's voice came on the line. _"Let's regroup at the base of the mountain and come up with a plan."_

"_Okay," _Kevin agreed. _"We're on our way."_

"Let's go," Nina ordered as soon as they pocketed their samurizers. Before they could leave, however, they heard an evil laugh. Turning the corner, they saw Serrator, standing in the middle of the road. "Serrator."

"Not this guy again," Mike huffed.

Serrator smirked. "You're feeling it right now, aren't you? That feeling creeping up your spine, telling you you've fallen into a trap and there's no escape. Your false bravado is pitiful, since you're about to meet defeat."

They wasted no time in morphing. "Go go samurai!" Drawing their swords, the three rangers attacked Serrator. They weren't doing too well, given the fact he kept backing up and dodging their attacks. Their swords all clashed.

"You're attacking me with common swords?" Serrator raised an eyebrow. He shoved them all back, causing them to land hard on the ground and roll away. "Apparently, you haven't heard the news. The era of the sword is over." He fired at the three, and they flipped out of the way to avoid it. "A new era has begun, and it starts right now."

Before they could do anything, the three were caught in a purple glow, one that made it so they couldn't move. Their swords hit the ground as they were lifted into the air. "Think of it as your personal apocalypse," Serrator continued. He dropped them by letting the purple glow disappear, and they crashed into the ground once more.

"Time to bring out the claws," Nina hissed. Mike, knowing what she meant, tried to stop her.

"Don't!" he warned. "It won't do any good!"

"Goodbye, rangers," Serrator laughed before starting to move away.

Nina growled, and before the boys knew it, she was once again in her ocelot form and chasing after Serrator.

"You saw that too, right?" Antonio looked at Mike.

"Come on. The sooner we find her, the better."

* * *

Nina kept running even after she lost sight of Serrator. She was still in her ocelot form, finding it easier to move in it. She had no idea where she was going, but at the moment, she was hoping to find one of the others or Serrator while she was running. Things didn't seem to be how they should on the island, and that was the only thing the rangers knew for sure.

"Hello?" she heard Mia's voice call as she neared a small house. Nina slowed her pace and moved toward the house. "I can't reach mentor." Nina walked in at that moment. As she entered, she turned back into her human form. "Weren't you with Mike and Antonio?"

"I was chasing after Serrator," Nina shrugged. "But my guess is that the ash is blocking all communications from the whole island. Did you guys run into someone?"

"Dekker," Mia answered. Jayden didn't look like he was paying attention. "Jayden? Are you okay?"

Jayden turned his head and looked at the two girls before looking away. Nina rolled her eyes and took a seat beside him. "Don't worry," she assured. "It's just a minor setback."

"No," Jayden shook his head. "He's right. He can see my weakness. I need to find him."

"You're wounded," Mia stated. "You need to rest." Nina then noticed the small makeshift sling his wrist was resting in.

"Don't you see?" Jayden stood. "He didn't even have his true sword, Urumasa, today. When he gets it back, he'll be twice as deadly."

"Jayden, we have complete faith in you," the pink ranger assured.

"There are things about me you don't know," Jayden sighed. Dropping the makeshift sling, he took off.

Nina watched this and called after him. "Jayden! Jayden, stop! Don't do this!"

Sharing a look, the girls ran after him.

* * *

When Mia and Nina finally found Jayden, they saw him fighting off Dayu. They stepped in when they saw Dayu knock him down. The girls had their swords drawn and were able to deflect Dayu's next attack before it could hit Jayden. The two girls sent the Nighlok stumbling back and held their swords ready to attack as Jayden tried to stand up. "Nina, Mia, this is too dangerous! Protect yourself! I can fight my own battles!"

"Have you forgotten?" Mia huffed. "We put our lives in your hands, and you trusted to put yours in ours. That promise isn't a weakness, Jayden. We're rangers together, samurai forever. I'd say more, but I owe Dayu some payback. Go go samurai!" She morphed and launched right into a fight with Dayu.

"She's right, you know," Nina looked at her brother but still kept her focus on the oncoming moogers. "Besides, I'm your sister. We'd protect each other no matter what. Go, go samurai!" She morphed as well and went to help Mia against Dayu.

Jayden watched the two. "Okay, girls. I've got your backs." He stood up. "Go, go samurai!" He morphed and went to join the fight.

"You think you can do this all alone?" Dayu sneered as she had the girls on the ground, swords clashing against hers. "The other rangers have been neutralized. There is no one but the pathetic red ranger to help you."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Mia huffed, and the girls pushed Dayu off of them.

"Not so fast!" a new voice called, and they turned to see a morphed Mike, Emily, Kevin, and Antonio running to them.

"How did you…"

"Serrator left us hanging," Mike grumbled. "But luckily, blue freed us." Mia and Nina stood with their teammates.

"It takes more than a little water to stop us," Emily added as Jayden joined them.

"Now," he spoke. "Either you put out that fire, or we will."

Serrator appeared out of thin air. "You're too weak to put out anything. But you can put away those pathetic weapons. No need for a messy sword fight. Haven't you heard? The spin sword is obsolete. Right, Maldan?"

"Indeed," the Nighlok monster appeared. "The era of the laser blaster is here. Master blasters, fire!" The moogers with the blasters fired at the rangers, causing them to duck and roll out of the way.

"Black box, super disc!" Jayden summoned the powers. "Super Samurai Mode!" His suit transformed as the moogers fired again. "We've got to move faster than they can shoot." The others nodded and began running into battle. Jayden went to handle the armed moogers. "Moogers, you might be wearing party hats, but this party is over!"

"Are they hats or garbage can lids?" Nina wondered.

"It's time to take out the trash," Kevin agreed.

Antonio jumped down from a ledge to take on the Nighlok. "LZ and I thought we'd stop by and shock some sense into you!" He knocked the Nighlok back. "So much for the era of the laser blaster. You guys can't hit a…" he was cut off when he was hit multiple times with a laser. The others, seeing this, ran over to him as he fell.

"You all right?" Mike asked.

"I'm okay," the gold ranger groaned. "I guess I spoke a little too soon."

"Look up there!" Kevin pointed to where he spotted more.

"There are master blasters all around us," Jayden observed.

"It's like a whole army," Nina muttered.

Maldan spoke. "Like I said, the new era has begun. These lasers will sap your strength till there's nothing left."

Out of nowhere, Ji rode in on his motorcycle, drawing attention. "Mentor?" Jayden frowned. "What are you doing here?" Moogers began attacking him, and to most of the rangers' surprise, he was doing pretty well.

"You call this a blaster?" he scoffed. He pulled out the one resting on his back. "Now, this is a blaster!" He tossed it to Jayden, the red ranger catching it. "It's a gift from Cody. It's called the bullzooka. Fire it up." He tossed the red ranger the disc as well.

"Thanks mentor," Jayden grinned. He inserted the disc and they could hear the weapon starting up. Taking aim, Jayden began firing at the blasters on the ledge, one hit taking a few down at a time. He then destroyed the ones in front of the rangers. "Now that's fire power."

"Nice going," Mike commented.

"Cody made that?" Mia wondered. "It packs quite a punch."

Grabbing his sword, Jayden rushed into the fight against Maldan.

* * *

Once again, the rangers had managed to take down the Nighlok of the day. The people of the island returned to normal once the fire was put out. The Nighlok had retreated after Maldan was taken down in megazord mode. The addition of the bullzooka was extremely helpful to the rangers. At the moment, the seven rangers and Ji were walking back to the boat that would take them home. Nina and Jayden were trailing behind the others.

"Mia told me what Dekker said," she began. "He was wrong about you, Jayden. You were born to be our leader, to be a part of us…even if…"

"Thanks," Jayden gave her a small smile. "If they only knew…"

"Hey, did you see Mentor take out those master blasters?" Emily wondered as they all grouped together.

"Yeah," Mike chuckled. "Not bad for an old dude." Emily covered his mouth as they were close to Ji, who was sitting on his bike.

Ji stood and glared at Mike. "Old?"

"I didn't mean 'old' in the sense of retirement home," Mike stepped closer. "I meant more of, like, you know, retro cool." The others were trying to suppress laughs as Ji rolled his eyes.

"Too late," Antonio commented as they began walking by.

"Open mouth, insert foot," Kevin agreed.

"Smooth move, Mike," Emily chuckled.

"Come on!" Mike groaned, starting to follow. "You're not really upset, are you?" he stepped on fish that were on the ground. He lost his balance and fell into the pile of nearby barrels and crates covered in netting. They all stopped and turned around, finally laughing.

Mike sighed. "Okay, I deserved that."

* * *

A/N: Well, the end to yet another chapter. Only about seven more chapters left in this story, maybe eight. What'll happen next?


	34. The Master Returns

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 34: The Master Returns**

_A/N: Well, last time the rangers traveled to an island because of a Nighlok disturbance there. As usual, they managed to defeat the Nighlok and whatnot and return things back to normal. Dekker said some things that upset Jayden. The rangers got a new weapon that helped them out a lot in their fight. Nina and Jayden know that something big is coming. What'll happen now?_

_Sorry if this chapter is a bit short. Also, the rest of the story takes place in October._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Ji and Nina stood off to the side as they watched the others train. Nina would've joined in, but Ji had her practicing the sealing symbol more often that he had her actually training now, since he felt the time to use the symbol would be coming soon. Nina had no problem with it, but she did want to do some training. However, she was observing this session with Ji, since she told him her thoughts about what might've been bothering Jayden since a few days ago on the island.

The training session began, Mia charging first. Jayden defended himself and the other three rangers joined in. They were all staying in their corners with Jayden in the center of the mats. After the first clashing of swords, Jayden stayed relatively in the center while the others moved around, trying to take him down. The match ended when Kevin was knocked down and Mike almost ran into the practice sword Jayden held. It resumed quickly at Jayden's instruction, and Emily and Kevin attacked from behind. It didn't take long for Jayden to knock them all down.

Ji sighed and handed over the keys to the motorcycle to Nina, who gladly took them. "Dude, it's only practice!" Mike shouted.

"Sorry," Jayden apologized. "Practice is over."

"Mike, come on," Emily urged the green ranger. "Let's go inside."

"Hey, am I late?" Antonio asked as he stepped into the doorway. Most of the team gave him looks, giving him his answer. "Did I miss something?"

"We were just headed inside," Mia answered, giving him a look that told him they'd explain inside. "Join us?" Emily, Mike, and Kevin followed her.

Once they were inside, Jayden walked over to Ji and his sister. "Mentor, I didn't mean to hit them so hard. What's wrong with me?"

"Come on," Nina replied. "Let's go for a ride." Ji nodded, indicating that Jayden should follow.

With the two on the motorcycle, Nina took off. Ji headed inside.

* * *

"Should you even be driving this thing?" Jayden asked as they sped down the highway on the motorcycle. Nina had an idea of where to take him, but she wasn't letting him know where they were going. The orange ranger was going to take him to see one person she knew could help him out, even if it was a bit risky to do so.

"Probably not," she shrugged. "You know, Jayden, we all need a break. Sometimes a change of scenery can help." She pulled off the highway and took a small road that looked as if it led to nowhere.

"Did you get that from Gran or Ji?" Jayden raised an eyebrow.

"Both," Nina replied. She pulled to a stop in front of a giant tree, where an older woman was sitting underneath it, a blanket with food on it underneath her. The two rangers hopped off and the old woman stood up. "Gran!" Nina ran toward her. Jayden followed.

Evelyn smiled at her grandchildren. "Jayden," she greeted. "I haven't seen you since you were a little boy."

"Nice to see you too, gran," Jayden hugged her, surprised Nina would bring him here. The three walked back over to the blanket and sat on it.

"Ji told me about your training session this morning," Evelyn stated, handing both of them something to drink. "Were you trying to prove something, Jayden?"

"I don't know," Jayden sighed, suddenly wishing he wasn't there.

"I know it has something to do with Dekker," Nina told her grandmother.

Jayden continued. "He says I've become weaker. Have I?"

"No," Evelyn shook her head. "Every team goes through this. The team has only made you stronger. Two heads are better than one. Any amount of heads is better than one, actually."

"But I feel different," Jayden huffed. "Like…like I've lost my edge. I think that's why I went a little crazy on the team today. It's not like it was when it was just Ji and I. Maybe Dekker has a point."

"What's that?" the older woman prompted.

"That I've lost my warrior's edge," Jayden answered. "I've relied too much on the team."

To his surprise, Evelyn chuckled. "No, it's because you are a strong team leader. That you've been able to defeat the Nighlok up to now. You bring honor to all the red rangers who have come before you. Never doubt that, Jayden."

* * *

After leaving their grandmother, Nina drove them back into the city. The ride back home seemed a little longer, since neither of them talked. Jayden was thinking about what his grandmother had said. When they arrived back in the city, instead of going home, Nina pulled up to the grocery store. "Why are we stopping?" Jayden frowned.

"Ji said that he hasn't had a chance to get to the kitchen today," Nina sighed. "Which means Mia's probably cooking dinner."

"Oh," Jayden grimaced.

"I'm just gonna go grab a few snacks," she hopped off the bike. She headed into the store, leaving Jayden alone to figure out his thoughts. He was sitting on the bike while he waited for his sister to return.

It didn't take Nina long to get what she needed from the store. When she stepped out, she recognized the two guys in the way from when they had come to return Mia's wallet a few weeks back. "Hey," the shorter one, Spike, if she remembered correctly, spoke. "You're that girl from Mia's dojo."

"Weren't you two supposed to come back?" Nina retorted. The others had been filled in on what had happened when they stumbled upon the Shiba house and what Emily had done to them. "Our drill sergeant has been waiting to give you a real workout."

"Oh, you know," the bigger one, Bulk, replied. "We're really busy. We have to, you know, shop. It's very important." They turned and headed to walk into the store, only to slam into the door. Nina rolled her eyes and headed back over to the bike, where Jayden had been watching.

"What was that?" he asked, appearing to have been amused.

"Just some friends of Emily's from when that Nighlok that made us eat attacked," Nina chuckled, getting back on the motorcycle.

* * *

It didn't take too long to get back to the house from the grocery store. As soon as Nina pulled in, however, they rushed inside. The gap sensor went off just as they arrived, but Jayden had something to settle with the others first. Kevin had just pinpointed the attack when Jayden, Nina, and Ji walked into the room. Jayden and Nina walked over to the others.

"Sorry we're late," Nina huffed.

"Jayden, we can handle this if you're not…"

"I'm fine," Jayden assured the pink ranger. "And I'm sorry. I had a lot of things on my mind earlier. I was wrong to act the way I did."

Emily was the one to speak. "Jayden, it's okay. " They all walked closer.

"I just want you all to know how proud I am to fight alongside you."

"Dude, really, it's okay," Mike assured. "Just glad to have you back. But can you stop the proud stuff? You're freaking me out."

"Excuse me?" Antonio interrupted. "Shouldn't we all be hightailing out to the coastline?"

Jayden nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

The rangers made it to the coastline with no problem. Everything was fine between them, and they were hoping to get this battle done and over with. When they arrived, the saw Serrator holding Dayu's harmonium in his hands. They called out to him, and he turned around to find the seven rangers standing on the ledge above. "What are you up to now?" Jayden asked.

"Well, well, well," Serrator snorted. "Welcome. As you can see, I'm not doing anything. I'm as innocent as a dove."

"Yeah right," Kevin huffed.

"Give us a break," Mike scoffed.

"This time, you're going down," Antonio added.

"Samurizer, go go samurai!" The seven rangers morphed and stood ready to attack as a horde of moogers appeared.

The rangers jumped down and into the moogers, fighting them off as hard as they could. Nina spoke as she fought them. "Throw all the moogers at us that you want, but we're still gonna stop you!"

"Whatever you're up to…" Mia agreed.

"You should give up on it now," Mike finished.

"Because your time is up, Nighlok," Emily continued.

"Yeah," Antonio nodded. "It's gonna take more than moogers to slow us down."

"You got that right," Jayden confirmed. The seven finished off the moogers, but more came out of nowhere. "Alright team, round two." Once more, they set off fighting the moogers, momentarily forgetting about Serrator. At some pointed, they noticed that Dayu had appeared and seemed to be angry at Serrator for something.

Emily looked up and noticed this. "What? They're fighting each other! "

"They are?" Mia frowned, looking up as well. They continued fighting off moogers, listening to what Dayu and Serrator were saying to each other. Out of nowhere, lighting struck, and it had everyone on the field confused, even the Nighlok.

"What's with the sky?" Mike asked as the rangers gathered around, the moogers gone. "It's darkening like an eclipse."

"But the eclipse already happened," Nina recalled, if emails she had gotten from her former housemates were anything to go by.

A loud, booming voice filled the area. "Days shall become night as I escape the Netherworld to face my enemies!" Jayden and Nina tensed as they recognized the voice.

"Xandred," they hissed. A bunch of rocks combined together and a red glow emitted from them.

"It can't be!" Serrator gasped.

"It can be," Xandred continued. "And it shall be!" the glow became brighter, and the rock formation exploded. In its place stood the king of the Nighlok.

The rangers were in shock. "Jayden, is that…" Kevin trailed off. Xandred stepped a bit closer so they could see him clearer.

"Master Xandred," the red and orange rangers spoke flatly.

"Red Ranger, Chosen One," Xandred growled. The sky lightened up again.

"Guess you're not as strong as you thought," Antonio commented. "Your night spell's already losing power." They could already see him drying out.

"I will destroy you all!" he shouted. He fired at them, a pretty powerful blast. The rangers were all on the ground, struggling to move. "Serrator, it's your turn!" He fired at Serrator, but the Nighlok vanished before the attack could hit.

Jayden and Nina found the power to stand. "Spin sword!" With their swords on fire, the two charged Master Xandred. "Blazing strike!" However, the attack did nothing.

Xandred clutched both swords in one hand. "Ah, yes, the red ranger and the Chosen One. Pathetic heads of the Shiba Clan." Xandred let go of the swords, causing the two rangers to spin around. Before they could retaliate, Xandred attacked them with two heavy hits, the second one sending them flying back toward the others.

"You okay?" Emily asked as they stumbled toward the two, both in pain.

"You red faced creep!" Mike yelled.

"Attack!" Kevin ordered, and the others charged."Time to team up!" Combing their weapons, they attacked. It didn't do much as they were shot down once again.

"He's more powerful than I imagined," Mia groaned.

Having more energy than her brother, Nina stood and grabbed the Black Box, setting it up for her use. The others watched, confused as to what she was doing. She called on the bullzooka. Xandred noticed this and spoke. "Chosen One, I owe your family some payback. And you're the one who's going to pay."

"Nina, hold on!" Emily called.

"Nina, don't do it!" Jayden added from where he was.

"I have to try," Nina growled. She pulled the trigger on the blaster and fired. Xandred blocked the attack with his sword. He jumped into the air, and so did Nina, the two firing at each other. None of the hits landed on Xandred, and the Nighlok finally trapped Nina.

"Enough playing around!" he growled. With her trapped, he attacked. Nina went flying into the ground, and the Nighlok master stood there. "It's the end of the line, Chosen One. He fired an attack again that hit Nina just as she was starting to stand up. She fell to the ground again, this time losing her morph. "Pathetic." He disappeared, and the others ran over to Nina.

"Nina!" Jayden shouted, trying to get her to move.

"Come on, Nina," Kevin urged.

"She's got to be hurt," Mia stated.

They rolled her over onto her back, seeing she wasn't conscious.

* * *

After taking care of giant moogers, Emily staying behind to keep an eye on Nina, the rangers made it back to the Shiba house. Jayden used the Black Box to help create the powerful megazord. Nina was in pain, and she knew it. She also knew it was stupid what she did, and she had no idea why she did it. When the fight was done, Jayden had carefully lifted Nina and was carrying her home.

"Bring her here," Ji ordered, having gotten a call from them saying to be ready to treat Nina. "She'll be fine." Jayden carefully laid his sister down across the few chairs that had been pushed together in the common room.

"I'll grab us some water," Mia ran to the kitchen.

The others watched as Nina twitched in pain.

* * *

A/N: So why I had it be Nina instead of Jayden who got seriously hurt will be explained in the next chapter. What'll happen next?


	35. A Crack In Fate

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 35: A Crack in Fate**

_A/N: Jayden was having issues with things Dekker told him. Nina took him to visit their grandmother, who helped him work through it. The fight against Serrator had an unexpected turn for everyone when Master Xandred appeared. Nina became seriously injured. More on that will be in this chapter. Also, as for the chapter title, since this chapter is going to be both episodes "A Crack In the World" and "A Stroke of Fate," I combined the two episode titles to form the chapter title. Both episodes, since they were kind of meant to blend into each other, will be in this chapter._

_This chapter will have scenes from both episodes, but not all the scenes. Most of this might seem like a filler chapter._

_Only five more chapters after this one!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

It was roughly an hour before lights out in Anubis House when Eddie felt a sharp pain in his chest. Patricia and Fabian, who were in the room with him when it happened, were curious as to what was going on. A Sibuna meeting had just ended in Fabian and Eddie's room, and as soon as KT and Alfie left, Eddie felt the pain in his chest. "Eddie?" Patricia called. "Are you all right?"

"Something's wrong," Eddie breathed, knowing he felt that because of his connection to Nina. His phone went off, and he picked it up, reading a message from his cousin. He grabbed his laptop as Fabian and Patricia sat on either side of him, watching what he was doing. Eddie quickly pulled up a video chat screen and Emily appeared on it. "Emily, what's going on?"

"_It's getting close to the end," _she stated, seeing the other two people there. She knew that these people were the only other ones who knew about Nina being a ranger. _"Master Xandred is back."_

"He's back?" Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Like, he actually came out of the Netherworld?"

"_That's why the sky looked so dark earlier," _Emily explained. _"He appeared, and he's stronger than we thought."_

"So what does that mean?" Fabian demanded.

Emily sighed. _"Nina attacked him and she got hurt pretty bad. Mentor says she'll be fine, but it doesn't look like it."_

"Why would she attack something that powerful by herself?" Patricia frowned. The Nina they knew would never have done that, but then again, the Nina they knew was probably a bit different than the one they were hearing about.

"_We don't know," _Emily shrugged. _"I thought I would let you guys know about what's going on and give you a heads up that it's getting close to the end of the war. It doesn't look good, either."_

Eddie, Patricia, and Fabian shared a look.

* * *

After Emily got off the video call with Nina's friends to let them know what was happening, she joined them in the common room. Nina had been moved to the girls' room to rest after Ji had tended to her injuries. They all had questions about the fight, the main one being why Nina had decided to go fight Xandred alone. It was on everyone's mind. Jayden had a pretty good idea as to why she did that, and Ji knew the answer.

"So…Xandred is back, he just can't stay in the world for too long," Mike broke the silence.

"And Serrator is planning something else against Xandred," Mia added. "And needed Dayu's harmonium to do so."

"Why did Nina attack Xandred by herself, though?" Kevin voiced the main thing on everyone's mind. "I mean, that's not the kind of thing we'd expect from her, so why?"

Ji sighed. "She doesn't realize it, but she had a lot of anger toward Master Xandred."

"But why?" Emily frowned. "It still doesn't make sense."

"Xandred's the reason our parents are dead," Jayden caught on. "She was only three when they died and didn't quite understand what exactly happened. He was also the reason we had to be separated for our own protection."

"When she was old enough to understand what had happened," Ji continued. "She was so angry, she wouldn't speak for at least a week."

"Why did you two have to be separated?" Antonio wondered, having never heard that part of the story before.

Ji answered that as well. "They were separated because it was their parent's wish. They said that should something happen where the Nighlok weren't completely sealed away, that their children be separated for their own safety, and so it wouldn't seem like they knew each other when the time came to fight the Nighlok again. Their grandmother and I didn't think it was a good idea, but it was for the best. If Xandred found out more than one of the rangers was part of the Shiba Clan, then he would realize both would have the ability to seal him away."

"But he does know that," Emily pointed out.

"And it could cause a major problem for us if we're not careful," Ji nodded.

* * *

Early morning the next day, the rangers were up and training. Everyone but Nina was outside training. Jayden once again had a million thoughts running through his head about everything that was going to happen. Mia and Emily were training together, as were Mike and Kevin. Jayden was practicing by himself near the door to the house. Things were on Kevin's mind too.

"Why would Master Xandred attack Serrator?" he asked aloud. He seemed to be sensing Mike's attacks. "Serrator must be going rogue. Attacking at odd places like that island. But why?" He knelt down as Mike flipped over him. Kevin grabbed a few rocks and began mapping something out as the others came over to them.

"What's up, Kev?" Mike demanded.

"So far," Kevin spoke. "Serrator has made a series of attacks on us. If he's fighting us and Master Xandred, he must be up to something big."

"Huh?" Mike frowned. Kevin got up and ran inside. The others shared a look before following, figuring he must have discovered something. They found him in the common room, where Nina was sitting and resting. She still didn't look too good from the previous day's attack. Kevin had the map open.

"Check this out," he pointed. "If we put a dot on the map for each recent Nighlok attack, like I did with those stones outside, this is what we get."

All the rangers looked at the map, even Nina. "Oh, I see it," Mike nodded. "Now, what am I seeing again?"

"Let him finish, Mike," Jayden interrupted.

"Well, Serrator doesn't seem like the type of Nighlok to just attack randomly. I'm thinking there must be a pattern. I mean, why else would Master Xandred and Dayu attack Serrator He really got out of there fast." Kevin was silent for a moment before continuing. "Look. If we mark the spots where Serrator has appeared or has sent a Nighlok himself…"

"They form a line," Mia observed.

Kevin nodded. "This can't be a coincidence. Serrator's definitely up to something."

"And knowing him," Nina coughed. "It's probably something really bad."

"Don't worry," Jayden assured. "Whatever he's up to, we'll stop it."

* * *

Later in the morning, the rangers were once again gathered in the common room, looking over the map and trying to figure out what Serrator's plan could possibly be. Nina was feeling a bit better and was ready to get back into the fight, despite feeling a bit sore. The gap sensor went off, startling all of them. Ji pulled up the location on the map.

"He's attacking a spot that's right in line with the others," Emily stated. "The longer the line gets, it's like he's cutting the earth in two."

"Wait," Mike interrupted. "Could he really split the earth like that?"

"Maybe that's his plan," Kevin realized.

"All that's going to be cut is his plan," Jayden assured. "Let's roll."

Nina made to move, but Ji stopped her. "You're staying here until you're better. I'll call Antonio, tell him to meet you there."

After the others left and Ji had finished telling Antonio where to go, Nina turned to him. "Why can't I join them?"

"Because you need to practice the symbol," Ji instructed. "We may need to be ready sooner than we think. And because you're still injured."

Nina sighed.

* * *

Since she was not allowed to be out fighting, Nina decided she might as well work on the sealing symbol. She almost had it perfected, and she knew they would need it soon. Ji was paying attention to the fight while she was in her room, practicing. Figuring she would be lonely and knowing she'd need someone to talk to, Ji had called her cousin Lily to come and help out. After all, Lily was a former ranger with powers herself, and it was possible she could help Nina.

"I can't believe you live here," Lily shook her head. She was sitting on Nina's bed, watching the younger girl practice the symbol. "I thought you lived with Gran?"

"I did," Nina nodded. "Until the call came. Then I sort of moved back here."

"So I hear the fight might be over soon," Lily commented. "Frequent attacks help have an impact on that."

"Yeah," Nina sighed, stopping what she was doing. "Xandred appeared in the last battle."

Lily snorted. "So I've heard. I also heard about your little stupid stunt. Care to explain?"

"To be honest, I don't know what happened," Nina admitted. "It didn't even feel like I was the one fighting. I knew what I was doing, and I knew I was doing it, but it didn't feel like I had control over it."

"Jayden and Ji theorize that it's all the anger you didn't know you saved up that was coming out," the former yellow stated. "They said that you used to have anger issues toward Xandred, but they disappeared, yet when you saw him, you acted out of anger."

"Maybe," Nina shrugged. "I just wish I could be out there helping the others right now."

Lily placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Maybe Ji's holding you back because he wants you to calm down first. Nina, you may not look it or show it, but you do have a lot of built up anger inside of you. It might be better for you to not fight until you calm down a bit."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Nina huffed. "How can I be calm with my friends out there fighting?"

Lily sighed, knowing this would be a while.

Before they could do anything, they felt an unusual earthquake.

* * *

The shaking stopped, and Lily and Nina had headed into the common room to see if Ji could tell them what happened. Unfortunately, he had no idea about what was going on either. He was trying to get a hold of the others, but nothing was getting through. The girls and Ji waited a bit worriedly, but they didn't have to wait long as the other rangers came back as quick as they could. When they entered the house, the immediately went to the common room. Everyone, including Lily, stood around the map. Antonio was sitting on the small step that led up into the room.

"The Sanzu River is erupting through all six locations," Kevin sighed.

"And it gets worse," Ji added. "Look. All along this line, the barrier between our world and the Netherworld is growing weaker."

"Isn't there anything we can do about this?" Mia wondered.

"The only way to stop this is to stop Dekker," Jayden stated.

Antonio stood and spoke up. "I'm sorry, guys."

"What for?" Mike frowned as they all turned to look at him.

"Earlier today," Antonio admitted. "I had a chance to take out Dekker, but I, uh, let him go."

"What do you mean?" Nina demanded.

"After the blast," Antonio continued. "He was laying there defenseless. I couldn't bring myself to attack him. I know. I blew it."

Jayden shook his head. "No. Samurai never attack defenseless opponents."

"But still…"

"Dude, you made the right choice," Mike assured. "Come on. Even I know that."

"Your decision is what separates us from the Nighlok," Jayden added.

Antonio wasn't taking it. "But I still should've done something." He ran out of the room.

* * *

Once again, when the gap sensor went off, Nina was forbidden from going to fight with the others. Instead, Ji had sent her to find Antonio, since they thought he had gone after Dekker alone. It wasn't what she wanted, but she figured that was probably as close to the fight she would get today. Lily had left not long after Antonio did, needing to get back to work.

Nina had no idea where she was headed to find Antonio. Figuring that they would be somewhere on a path by some chance, she chose one and followed it. The path had a line of grass down the center, and some areas were covered in small patches of woods, but most of it was out in the open. This was where she found Antonio. Dekker was about to attack him with the sword he had, but Nina was quick enough to reach them and call on her spin sword to defend the blow.

Dekker looked up and saw her, and the two got into a fight. She and Dekker clashed swords a few times before Nina stumbled back a bit. "This is a waste of time," Dekker spat. "You're not a worthy opponent." He rushed at her and she got ready to attack. He flipped over her and landed behind her and Antonio and began to walk away. Nina turned and saw this.

"You're wrong, Dekker!" she shouted. "Honor and compassion aren't Antonio's weaknesses! His heart is his greatest strength!" When Dekker was out of sight, she knelt down beside Antonio.

"I was a fool to think Dekker could be reasoned with," he sighed.

"No," Nina shook her head. "You were really brave. We need a samurai like you on the team to remind us what we really stand for." She handed him his blade, and he took it.

"Let's go stop him once and for all," he grinned.

Nina helped him up and they took off.

* * *

After the long and hard fight, the rangers found themselves on the path that Antonio had found Dekker on. Nina and Antonio had arrived at the fight not long after Dekker did, and from there, the fight went on. Dekker had taken back his sword, and looked ready to complete Serrator's plan. Unfortunately for the rangers, Serrator was there waiting and held the rangers back from stopping Dekker. To the rangers' surprise, Dekker had turned on Serrator and instead destroyed the Nighlok, effectively ruining Serrator's plan. When Serrator reappeared Megazord size, the rangers managed to take him down how they did any other Nighlok.

"After a battle like that, I'm starving," Mike complained as they headed home.

"You're always starving," Emily laughed. Antonio stopped walking as the others continued. Mia noticed and paused in her step, which drew the others' attention.

"Antonio, are you okay?" Mia asked, walking over to him.

"I'm just thinking about what Dekker did," he nodded. "The choice he made."

"You made a choice too," Jayden reminded him. "You stood up for what's right."

Antonio agreed. "And unlike the Nighlok, we will never betray each other."

Kevin grinned as he moved to put his fist in the center. "Rangers together…" the others joined in.

"Samurai forever," Antonio finished.

* * *

A/N: Well, this chapter ends here. Up next, Nina and Jayden's secret gets revealed, and things start to get heated up with the fight.


	36. Fight Fire With Fire

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 36: Fight Fire with Fire**

_A/N: So I was halfway through this when my laptop crashed, and this didn't save. Anyway, last time, Nina was forbidden from fighting until she calmed down, even if she didn't know she was angry. Lily came down to help her out, and it worked. Antonio had doubts about a decision he made regarding Dekker, but it worked out for the rangers in the end. Anyway, what'll happen now when Jayden and Nina's secret is revealed._

_I'm only posting this chapter now to tell you guys about the poll on my profile dealing with a later story in this series._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

The middle of October reached the rangers, and the war against the Nighlok continued. They all knew that by month's end, the war would probably be over, but none of them wanted to voice it in fear of jinxing it. Nina was better, and she was ready to fight again. Right now, she and Jayden were the only rangers outside training, both wanting to do something. Everyone else was elsewhere in the house, doing their own thing. Ji was outside as well, observing the two rangers.

A knock was heard at the gate, and Ji went to answer it. A delivery man was there, and he handed Ji an envelope with the family crest on it. The men bowed before going to where they needed to be. Ji walked over to the two rangers, stopping their match. Nina and Jayden stood straight, noticing the serious look on Ji's face. Ji handed the red ranger the envelope, and Jayden took it. He opened it as the other two crowded around him. The three read it over.

"Does that mean…" Nina trailed off.

"We knew this day would come," Ji stated.

"This changes everything," Jayden sighed. "The other rangers will finally know our secret. I just hope they'll be able to forgive us."

None of them noticed Mia watching from the doorway.

* * *

The rangers arrived at the park to find moogers terrorizing people. Not long after Jayden and Nina had gotten the letter, the gap sensor had gone off. They traced the call to the park, and now the seven rangers were there. They stood before the moogers and morphed, charging the moogers. None of them noticed the Nighlok monster they were going to have to fight just yet. Somehow, the seven managed to drag the fight over to the nearby woods.

"These guys get uglier every time I see them," Antonio huffed.

"Moogers have cornered the market on ugly," Mike agreed. "It's what they do best."

"Stay focused," Jayden warned.

"Pick your targets," Nina added as she and Jayden were fighting back to back.

A new voice joined, getting the red and orange rangers' attention. "I've picked mine!" They turned to see a new Nighlok had joined the fight right before being hit with something she fired. When they stood, a rippling shock went through them, it hurting Nina more than it did Jayden.

"What was that?" Kevin demanded.

"Jayden! Nina!" Mia gasped, seeing the two.

"You guys okay?" Mike called.

"They're hit!" Emily observed.

"What's that smoke?" Antonio wondered.

"It feels like my insides are burning up," Nina coughed.

"Mine too," Jayden agreed.

The Nighlok, Fiera, looked at the two. "Let me get you even more fired up!" She fired again, and the two rangers got up and moved, deflecting the attacks she sent to them.

"It won't stop burning," Nina groaned as they hid behind a tree.

"What are those things?" Jayden added. They peeked around the tree, not seeing the Nighlok in sight. "Where is she?"

"Hello," Fiera greeted from behind them, causing them to turn. "Want another?" Before they could dodge, they were hit and knocked down. Once again, before they could get up from the ground, both let out a cry of pain.

"It burns!" they cried.

Kevin noticed something. "She's singling out Jayden and Nina. We have to protect them!"

"Too late!" Fiera cackled. Kevin took a hit from the Nighlok before it reached the two fire rangers. "That would've finished them off!"

"Careful," Jayden warned Kevin as the three attempted to stand. "Those blasts are powerful." The red and orange rangers moved to attack Fiera.

"I feel okay," Kevin frowned. "That blast didn't affect me much."

"Really?" Nina raised an eyebrow.

Kevin nodded as they looked around for the Nighlok. "Yeah, I'm barely scratched. I think we can block her shots, rangers." Once more, Fiera appeared behind them. The others took the hit for Jayden and Nina. Jayden and Nina were only hit a tiny bit, and they both landed on the ground, lying on their backs. The two cried out in pain again.

"Why is that just happening to them?" Mia asked.

"I'll tell you why," Fiera offered. "The heads of the Shiba family have massive fire symbol power. My fire flashers simply ignite the flames already inside them. And you can't stop me! You can't even see me!" She vanished from sight.

"We must protect them and the sealing power," Kevin ordered. They formed a circle around the two rangers. Fiera kept popping up in random spots and firing at them, knocking them all down before they had a chance to react.

"You guys," Jayden growled. "Stop taking hits for us!"

"We have to protect you," Mike argued. "Besides, her hits aren't that strong. We're a team."

Emily nodded. "He's right. If they want you guys, they'll have to go through us first."

"Emily's right," Antonio agreed. "We seven are a team till the end." The attacks kept coming, and the other five did their best to defend Jayden and Nina.

"Please," Nina began, only to have a rippling pain shoot through her.

"You need to stop protecting us," Jayden finished her thought. " We can handle this!" Slowly, the two fire rangers got to their feet. "You want us, then fight us, not them! Super Samurai mode!"

"Nice vest," Fiera appeared. She hit Jayden and Nina again before they could do anything, and the two felt the pain again. Still standing, they ran, hoping to get the fight out of the woods.

* * *

Jayden and Nina ran until they were back in front of the small building. They had lost sight of the others and Fiera, but knew the latter would appear soon. "Noble self sacrifice?" Fiera showed up before them. "You humans are pitiful." She vanished once more just as the others reached the place. Fiera reappeared in the air behind the fire rangers. "This will finish you!"

"Think again!" the two grumbled. They were hit, and as they were flying back, Jayden pulled out the bullzooka. He combined their powers and fired, hitting Fiera as the two rangers lost their morph. Fiera hit the ground at the same time Jayden and Nina did.

"You're supposed to burn up!" she cried. "Not me!" She let out a scream before exploding.

"Help them!" Mia ordered as the others ran to the fallen rangers.

"Jayden, Nina," Kevin spoke as they knelt down around the two. "You're gonna be okay. Just hang on."

"You got to lead, Kevin," Jayden coughed. He handed the blue ranger the Black Box.

Kevin nodded. "You can count on me."

"He's toast!" Fiera shouted, and they looked up to see her in her second form. "And the rest of you will be next!" The girls moved Nina while Antonio moved Jayden. They set the two side by side against one of the statues. Mia and Emily ran off to help Kevin and Mike.

"Just rest here, buddies," Antonio instructed. "We're coming back for you." He moved to help the others. Nina and Jayden watched as the others formed the megazord and began the fight against Fiera.

Jayden managed to turn his head toward Nina. "You okay?"

"I will be," she breathed. "You?"

"I might be doing better than you are," the red ranger coughed. He turned his head back to the fight just in time to see the megazord fall apart. Both were having trouble keeping their eyes open, but they managed to barely see a blonde figure walking toward them.

"Jayden, Nina," a female's voice vaguely familiar to both called. "Don't worry. I'll handle this." They could see her draw her own samurizer and morph into the red ranger, the only difference between hers and Jayden's suit being a skirt.

The new red ranger hopped in the lion zord and attacked Fiera. "Who's in the lion zord?" she demanded.

"It can't be Jayden or Nina," Antonio frowned.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed, looking to where their friends were. "They're still on the ground."

"Then what's going on?" Emily wondered. "Who's in his zord?"

A new voice joined them. "We've all seen enough of your disappearing act," the new red ranger said. "It's time to make you disappear!"

"Think again!" Fiera fired.

"I have," the ranger continued. "And your harebrained moves end here, now. You know what? Hair like yours needs a good blow dry." She caused the lion zord to spit fire at the Nighlok. "Megablade, activate!" With one last attack, she managed to destroy Fiera.

* * *

Jayden and Nina were barely awake. Both were still breathing, which everyone took as a good sign. The other rangers were confused by the new ranger, wondering who she was and how she knew about this. Jayden and Nina knew exactly who the girl was and why she was there. Once Fiera was destroyed, Kevin, Mike, Antonio, Mia, and Emily all hopped out of their zords and demorphed, running over to the other two rangers. Together, they got the two rangers up.

Kevin and Antonio helped escort Jayden as Mike and Emily did the same for Nina. Mia was helping the other boys with Jayden. They began walking away, but the sound of footsteps landing behind them caused them to stop and turn around. They all saw the new red ranger. "What's going on here?" Emily asked cautiously.

The red ranger demorphed, revealing a girl around Mia's height with straight blonde hair and hazel eyes.

"Who are you?" Antonio questioned.

Nina decided to answer. "She's our big sister."

"Huh?" the other five who didn't know gasped.

"Lauren," Jayden spoke, giving her name.

"What?" Mike's eyes went wide. "You guys didn't tell us you had a sister!"

Lauren wasn't looking at anyone but her siblings. "Hi, Jayden, Nina." She walked forward so she was in front of the rangers.

"Why didn't we know about you?" Emily asked. "And where have you been?"

"Why weren't you with Jayden and Nina?" Mike added. "And what about…"

"Whoa," Mia cut him off. "Don't just throw a million questions at her. Why don't we start with this," she turned to Lauren. "Lauren, welcome to the samurai rangers."

"Thank you," Lauren smiled. "I've imagined this day for a long time. I can't wait to get to know each one of you. And especially my little brother and sister."

* * *

"The Nighlok never even knew Lauren existed," Ji explained to the others. Jayden and Nina were in the infirmary, and Lauren was with them, waiting for them to wake up. Ji, knowing the others would want to know who Lauren was, had gathered the others in the common room to explain this to them. "It was all part of their father's secret plan. You see, in the last invasion, Master Xandred's forces were waging an intense battle. They were overwhelming the samurai rangers. So their mother and father put all their faith in their three children. Lauren was sent off and put into hiding so she could fully master the sealing power. But while his sisters practiced the sealing symbol, someone had to continue to fight off the Nighlok. That's where Jayden came in."

"But Jayden was only a little boy then," Mia pointed out.

"Exactly," Ji nodded. "His parents feared they themselves hadn't mastered the sealing power, but they were determined to try. He hoped even an imperfect seal would be strong enough to at least send Master Xandred to the bottom of the Sanzu, long enough to allow their daughters to truly master the symbol and for their son to grow strong enough to protect the world until they did. To deceive the Nighlok, Jayden and Nina had to do one of the hardest things in the whole world…hide it from their best friends."

"They must've felt like their whole life was a secret," Mike mused.

"And they've been carrying it around inside themselves this whole time," Mia added.

Kevin spoke up next. "There's a couple of things I don't get. If it's supposed to be Lauren _and _Nina who have the sealing power, then why did Nina show up at the very beginning?"

"The Nighlok knew that the previous red and orange rangers were married," Ji answered. "Their marriage allowed them to share the same powers, including the sealing power. Since the Nighlok also knew the team had a total of six rangers, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink, Nina had to come to make sure that it stayed that way. If it didn't, the Nighlok would've known something was up."

"And what about the powers?" Kevin wondered. "I thought they were passed down from parent to oldest child?"

"The fire powers are a different case," Ji shook his head. "For all of the powers, including the red fire ones, they're passed down to the oldest child. When the samurai powers were originally created, the fire one was so strong they had to split it into two. In order for both fire powers to work in harmony, the red one went to the eldest child, while the orange one went to the youngest. Since Lauren and Nina are the oldest and youngest…"

"It leaves Jayden the odd man out," Antonio caught on. "Because he's the middle child."

Ji nodded. "Jayden can also wield both red and orange samurai fire powers, but the powers are strongest with who they're originally meant to be with, or in Emily's case, who's used them more."

"Does this mean they're ready?" Emily asked.

"Yes," Ji confirmed. "They have finally mastered the sealing power, the only power capable of sealing Master Xandred away forever. This is the thing we've been waiting for."

* * *

Nina and Jayden felt better now that the burning inside them had stopped. Lauren sat on a chair in between the two beds in the infirmary. The younger two were sitting up in their beds, lightly sipping water that had been set aside for them. None of them knew what exactly to say to the other, since it had been so long since the three had been together. "I was so proud when I saw you two fight yesterday," Lauren commented. "You've grown into a true samurai."

"You were the one who tore up the battlefield," Jayden pointed out. "You were amazing."

"I thought about both you," Lauren continued, pouring them each some more water. "Often, over the years. I imagined that, like me, you must have felt very alone."

"Yes," Jayden nodded. "But I've learned to trust my friends. They've become like brothers and sisters to me, too."

"I'm so glad," Lauren smiled. "I hope I can become part of the family now, too. You two, me, surrounded by friends."

Nina still had no idea what to say, her thoughts becoming a giant mess. Jayden went on. "Lauren, you know we can't be together now."

"I had hoped that maybe there would be some way," Lauren sighed.

"I always knew this day would come," Jayden shook his head. "You are now the red ranger. You must take your place as their leader. The only way for that to happen is for me to leave."

"Jayden…" Nina looked at him. This was news to her, having never been filled in on her brother's intentions once Lauren were to come back.

"The sealing power is the only way to save the world," Jayden stated, refusing to look either of his sisters in the eye. "It must be protected, and that means protecting you two at all costs. They're too loyal to me. If I stay…if I stay, dangerous mistakes could be made. I can't let that happen."

"Are you sure?" Nina asked, not liking this idea.

Jayden nodded. "There can only be one red ranger."

* * *

"No," Nina shook her head. She and Jayden were up and about, well enough to be moving now. Jayden was in his room, packing to leave for a while. Now that there were four girls, Ji had decided it was best for Nina and Lauren to share a room, just like they used to. Nina, though glad her sister was back, now found herself mad that her brother was leaving. "I'm not letting you leave."

"Nina, I have to," Jayden insisted, repacking whatever she removed from his duffle bag. "It's the only way for this to work."

"There has to be another way to avoid this!" Nina argued, not caring if she was acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum. She had dreamed of the day when the three of them would be together again, and now her brother was ruining it by leaving. "We're supposed to be a family! That was how it was supposed to be when Lauren returned!"

"But it would be easier for the others to follow her if I'm not around," Jayden stated. "We can still be a family once the Nighlok are gone, but not before."

Nina glared at him. "Yeah, and we'd still be apart. When this is over, I'm going back to England to finish school with my friends and graduate with them, Lauren will probably go who knows where, and you'll still be here, figuring out what you want to do. How can we be a family then?"

"We'll figure it out," Jayden sighed, closing the bag. "But for now, this is what's best." Without another word, he started to walk away.

* * *

"It's really great to have another girl on the team," Emily commented as she, Lauren, and Mia sat side by side at the table outside. Antonio had grilled some burgers for everyone, and the only ones missing from the little party was Nina, Jayden, and Ji. Lauren knew where they were, but the others didn't. They were waiting for the other three in order for the party to really begin. "We should totally have a girls' day out."

"Yeah," Mia agreed. The door opened to the house, and they all turned to see Jayden with a duffel bag over his shoulder and a box in his hands.

"Hey," Antonio grinned. "Now, look who's up. Come on, Jayden. It's your sister's homecoming party. And we even got cake." Jayden said nothing and didn't move, and it was then when the others caught the serious look.

"Jayden, what's wrong?" Kevin asked.

Lauren stood and walked over to him. Jayden met her halfway and handed her the wooden box, showing her what was inside while the others watched on in confusion. Jayden turned to them. "You all need to follow Lauren now. She's the new red ranger, and your leader. I'm going away."

"What do you mean?" Emily questioned.

"You mean on a trip, right?" Mike hoped.

"I mean permanently," Jayden corrected.

"What?" the others shouted.

"Jayden, you can't go," Mia denied. "You know how we all feel."

Jayden nodded slowly. "I know. But Lauren and Nina alone have the sealing power. They're able to do what I could never do: end this fight, bring peace. You all need to rally around her."

"We need you too," Antonio insisted. "Lauren, tell him." She didn't say anything. "Well, go on. Tell him!" Ji appeared in the doorway.

"Mentor," Mike looked to him. "What is this? Jayden's leaving. How could you keep this from us?" Everyone was looking at him. "Come on! Make him stay!"

"You can't stop him," Ji stated. "No one can."

"Ji," Jayden spoke to him. "You've been my guiding light. Thank you for everything." They all gathered around as Jayden turned to face the gate. The only one missing was Nina. He walked down the line. "Mike, Emily, Mia, Antonio, Kevin…it's been an honor to fight by your side."

Without another word, he left.

* * *

A/N: This is a good place to end this. Up next, Lauren and Nina have a talk, and the other rangers try to get used to Lauren being there. Please vote in the poll on my profile!

Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	37. The Great Duel

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 37: The Great Duel**

_A/N: Last time, Jayden and Nina's big secret was revealed. Nina and Jayden were injured, but they overcame it. The others learned about Lauren when she joined the team. Nina's mad at Jayden for leaving, and she's confused about everything going on. Jayden left, and the others are upset by it. Antonio left to go look for Jayden while the others deal with everything else._

_Sorry if this chapter is short!_

_I know I updated this a couple days ago, but I want to finish this story so I can move on to the next one. Info about the poll at the bottom._

_What'll happen now?_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

It was night, and everyone was in bed. It didn't mean they were asleep, but they were all in their own rooms, letting the day's events sink in. They were all upset about Jayden leaving, no one more so than Nina, but they also knew they had no say in the matter. Antonio had run off to go find Jayden and to try and convince him to come back. At the moment, Nina and Lauren were sitting in their own beds, reading different books.

"How are you doing?" Lauren wondered, starting a conversation.

"I don't know," Nina sighed. "I have too many thoughts running through my mind to choose an emotion."

"Well, pick it apart, piece by piece," Lauren suggested. "How do you feel about Jayden leaving?"

"Mad," Nina answered quickly. "I thought now that you're back, we could finally be a family again, the three of us."

Lauren nodded. "What about me? In general and my coming back home?"

"I feel glad that you're back home," Nina admitted. "And in general? I don't know…I guess I feel jealous?"

"Jealous?" Lauren sat up, an eyebrow raised. "Of me? Shouldn't it be me who's jealous of you?" Nina sat up as well. "After all, you're the one of us that got to live the normal life?"

"Normal?" Nina scoffed. "The past two years or so of my life have been far from normal."

"You'll explain what you mean by that, right?" Lauren hoped. Nina nodded. "So, why are you jealous of me?"

Nina hesitated on answering, debating whether or not she should really tell her. "It's a stupid reason."

"Come on," Lauren urged. "Humor me."

"Well," Nina bit her lip. "I'm jealous of you because you have more memories of mom and dad and got to spend time with them."

Lauren's face fell, not realizing that had been the problem. "You do have some memories of them, though, don't you?"

"Only two," Nina stated. "The one from the night they died, and then the one from when I helped Jayden beat you in a training match about a month or two before you were sent away. I wouldn't have even remembered the last one had it not been for a fight Jayden got himself into."

"I didn't know that," Lauren frowned. She got up and moved over to her sister's bed, sitting beside her. "I can tell you that mom and dad were great parents, but that's about all I'd be able to tell you. I may have a few more memories about them than you do, and it's perfectly reasonable for you to be jealous about it."

"It just sounds stupid when you think about it, though," Nina shrugged.

"Well, mom and dad may not be here," Lauren sighed. "But you, Jayden, and I can always work on being a strange family after this whole thing is over. Though from what I hear, you're going back to England to finish school."

"I plan to," Nina nodded. "A lot happened there, and all my friends aside from the rest of the team are there, one of which happens to be Emily's cousin."

"Really?"

"Strange coincidence," Nina chuckled.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I stopped by there, once, looking for you. I didn't realize you guys had already started this when I visited, and it was really awkward. They seem like an interesting bunch over there."

"You have no idea," Nina let a small grin come to her face. "I guess I should start at the beginning of this explanation, though."

The rest of the night was spent with Lauren listening to Nina's adventures as the Chosen One and what had happened on the team so far.

* * *

In the morning, Lauren had gotten up earlier than anyone in order to train some more. Nina had told her all about the Cup of Ankh, Mask of Anubis, and the elixir of life. Lauren had also told Nina about some of her adventures while she was supposed to be in hiding, and they didn't fall asleep until after midnight. When Lauren had gotten up, Nina was still sleeping. The blonde stood in the indoor dojo across from the Light Zord.

The zord tossed discs at her, and he deflected each and every one with ease. Mia, Mike, Emily, and Kevin, all in their training uniforms, stood in the doorway and watched. Ji appeared beside them. "Why aren't you practicing with her?"

"We want to go and look for him," Emily admitted as Nina appeared.

"Jayden would want you to help Lauren to complete the mission to seal Master Xandred away," Ji stated.

"But what about…"

"The fate of the world," Ji cut Mike off. "Rests on you working with Lauren. I'll go find Jayden. And you stay focused." They all nodded as Ji left. The five other rangers turned their attention back to Lauren.

Kevin agreed. "Our mission isn't over yet. It's our duty to stay with the red ranger."

"In that case, maybe she needs a training partner," Mike moved to go do so.

"Mike, she's our leader," Kevin held him back. "You know Jayden never liked it when you challenged him."

"She's not Jayden," Mike reminded him. He stepped forward. "Hey, Lauren. Do you want to spar?" Lauren turned her head toward him. "I'm pretty good with a sword."

To everyone but Nina's surprise, she smiled. "It'd be an honor. I've always had to train alone." Mike nodded and they grabbed the practice swords. Both stood in different positions, and the green ranger began the attack. With only a few simple moves, Lauren had him down on his back, sword flying out of his hands.

"Wow, you're awesome," Mike groaned. The others couldn't help but chuckle.

"Who's next?" Lauren looked at them.

"I'll go," Nina volunteered. "Let's see if your training can compare to gran's."

Nina grabbed a practice sword, and the two got in position. They were both in different positions, waiting for the other to make the move. The orange ranger finally started the fight, and the others watched as both girls battled each other. Within seconds, the match became longer than the one with Mike. The other four watched, wondering why they hadn't seen something like this before.

Kevin picked up on a pattern. "They're mirroring each other."

Before they knew it, both girls had knocked the other down.

* * *

It was lunch, and Mia had offered to cook. Lauren didn't know what the big deal was about Mia cooking, but the others knew it wasn't going to be good. Emily and Lauren had walked in last, talking about Lauren's training. The other four were already in the room. The girls took seats as Mia placed the other napkins on the table.

"That's not too far from the truth," Lauren replied to Emily's statement.

"But I bet nothing," Mike began. "Nothing…could have prepared you for this."

"Lunch is ready," Mia called as she brought over a couple of plates. She placed one in front of Lauren and Emily before returning to the pot. Lauren took a bite of hers as Mia handed the other three their plates. To their surprise, Lauren kept eating.

"So, Lauren," Kevin started. "You say you trained day and night, right?"

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "I mean, that's my life. I practice the sealing power. I exercise. I train. This tastes great."

Mike ignored that comment and asked another question. "So…what do you do for fun? Do you go to the movies or go dancing?"

"I train," the blonde shrugged.

"Do you ever go out to eat?" Nina wondered. They did talk a lot last night, but the dirty blonde still wanted to be part of the conversation.

"No," Lauren shook her head. "But I bet you don't either with Mia cooking. This is so good."

"Is this really happening?" Mike looked to Kevin, hoping he had an answer for why Lauren liked the cooking they all didn't.

Before anything else could happen, the gap sensor went off.

* * *

When the others arrived on the scene, they saw Antonio was already there, morphed and fighting. The Nighlok, as usual, didn't look too pretty. Antonio lost his morph after being slammed into the building a couple of times. The others stood in their normal position, Lauren taking Jayden's spot. "Nighlok," she called. "Back off."

They all drew their samurizers. "Go, go samurai!" They all morphed and drew their swords. "Rangers together, samurai forever!"

"Oh, color coded target practice," the Nighlok laughed. He charged, and so did the rangers. "Fine, let's rumble!"

The rangers kept moving in to attack him no matter how many times they were thrown off. Mike ran to check on Antonio as Lauren and Nina landed a couple of hits. The green ranger rejoined them, and Nina looked at the others. Seeing a couple nod, she pulled out and ran off. Lauren wondered what her sister was doing, but kept her focus on the fight. However, she was not prepared for when she was knocked back. The others stood in front of her, protectively. The Nighlok fired at them, and they deflected it the best they could.

"Guys, are you okay?" Lauren asked as she was back on her feet. "It's time to get serious." She pulled out the Black Box. "Super Samurai mode!"

"You don't scare me," the Nighlok scoffed. A growl gained their attention, and before they knew it, an ocelot was coming at the Nighlok and attacking it. Lauren was gravely confused, but the others knew what was going on. The Nighlok shoved Nina off of him and fired at Lauren. Nina, however, jumped in the way just before it could hit Lauren and deflected it. Nina nudged Lauren out of the way as the others got ready to strike.

"Spin sword, quadruple slash!" The attack knocked the Nighlok down, and Lauren realized it was her turn.

"Super bullzooka," she called on the weapon. She took aim. "Bullzooka blast!" she fired the weapon. The blast hit the Nighlok dead on and destroyed him.

"Excellent shot," Kevin commented.

Lauren nodded thanks as Nina transformed back into her human form, still in morph. The Nighlok grew back.

"It's not over yet!" he called.

* * *

With Lauren's instructions, the rangers were able to take down yet another Nighlok. They had to admit she was fitting into the role of red ranger nicely. On the way back to the Shiba house, the girls explained why Nina was there as the animal her zord was, and the minute the words Pai Zhuq left someone's mouth, Lauren understood. She knew about the women in her family belonging to the Pai Zhuq. The fight to destroy the Nighlok had been good, and they destroyed it how they normally did.

"Antonio!" Mia shouted as the girls entered the house first and walked by the common room. Antonio looked heavily injured and in pain, and the girls moved to help them. "You're injured."

"I'm okay," he groaned. "Just worried about Jayden." The girls helped him lay down as Lauren watched, unsure of what to do.

"I'm gonna go get you some ice," Emily ran for the kitchen. Kevin and Mike entered the room and moved to help Mia and Nina. They moved another chair over and grabbed a pillow and blanket for him.

"A little easier on the care-giving, okay?" Antonio winced. Emily brought back the ice and set it on Antonio's head. Lauren say Ji enter and take a seat on the opposite side of the room, looking tired.

Lauren ran over to him. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Hearing Lauren speak, the others turned and saw who she was talking to. "Mentor!" With speed, they all took everything from Antonio and moved it over to Ji.

"Did you find our brother?" Lauren asked.

"Yes," Ji nodded, not looking happy. "He is fighting Dekker."

"Jayden's fighting Dekker?" Nina demanded.

* * *

A/N: Ending this here. What'll happen next? Only three chapters left!

**Poll Info:**

Scott and Flynn are tied for first. If you haven't voted, please do so! If there ends up being a tie, another poll will be out shortly to break the tie.

As for why I chose those three...

Scott - he and Nina and Fabian's daughter are going to be childhood friends, so I could easily do the classic friends growing up and falling in love thing

Flynn - who doesn't love Flynn and his accent?

Gem - I fell bad for the poor guy. If you pair off the rangers of RPM into their obvious pairings (Summer/Dillon, Ziggy/Dr. K, and if you want, Flynn/Gemma), then that only leaves Scott and Gem without a guy, and I've seen quite a few stories were the pairing of Scott with someone is usually a Scott/Tenaya pairing, leaving Gem all alone. So please, vote!


	38. The Sealing Symbol

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 38: The Sealing Symbol**

_A/N: Last time, the team had their first battle with Lauren as the red ranger. Jayden went off and ran into Dekker, battling him. I know I skipped the episode between this one and the last one, but I couldn't find a place to fit it. I will start this chapter off with the ending of it, so it'll still have a little bit of it inside. What'll happen now? The final battle is close, but it's still not close enough._

_This might be short. Two chapters left! Go vote in the final poll on my profile (for this series)._

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show. _

* * *

After hearing the news of Jayden fighting Dekker, Emily, Nina, Mike, and Mia had run off to find him. Antonio and Ji had been tended to by Kevin and Lauren, who stayed behind to do so. It had quickly become night, and that was when they found Jayden. Something had held them back from running into the fight and helping Jayden, and they weren't sure what it was. From what they saw, the fight looked intense.

When it was over, the four who found him tended to his injuries right there. Jayden was too weak to really move, so they figured it was best. They had called the other three to let them know Jayden was aright and alive. They had watched the battle, and it ended after Kevin had joined the others to watch. None of them spoke as the sun came up again. Jayden had thanked him, and they had tried to convince him to come back to the team.

On their way back to the house, however, they had got the call of a Nighlok attack. Giant moogers had appeared, and they headed to the marina. When they arrived, they saw Lauren and Antonio had already formed the megazord to take on the giant ones. They had managed to convince Jayden to join them. They had morphed by the time they got there, and Nina had gone to help her sister and Antonio. Mia had spotted Dayu in the nearby quarry, and went to fight her.

Something Dayu had done had gained everyone's attention and the air had changed. Lauren, Jayden, and Nina had all realized what exactly it was. Nina joined Mia on the ground in front of Dayu as Emily, Mike, and Kevin made their way over to them. When the rain cleared, Master Xandred was standing before.

"Samurai rangers!" he bellowed. "Give up! You have no hope! Dayu, thanks to you, I'm back."

"I repay my debts," the other Nighlok breathed.

"Now, the humans' world shall fall to me," Xandred smirked. "You look shocked, rangers. I don't blame you. Now, with my renewed power, nothing can stop me!" Antonio and Lauren finished off the Nighlok as Jayden finished off some more moogers, all of them spotting Xandred. He turned to Dayu. "Your harmonium brought me back, Dayu. The final tune it played was…powerful."

"My misery did it," Dayu huffed. The rangers watched the exchange, confused.

"Your centuries of suffering unleashed all that power," Xandred went on. "And now the Sanzu River is surging. I've never heard you play anything like it."

Dayu looked ready to pass out. "I didn't play it for you. I played for Dekker. This is the end of me, but it is also the end of my sadness. So many years I've held onto my sorrow, but now…"

"You should've embraced the Nighlok life," Xandred growled as he pulled her to him.

"I was never truly a Nighlok," she admitted. "My heart remained human."

"Well," Xandred mused. "Perhaps you can still be of use to me."

Before the rangers knew it, Dayu was gone for good, and Xandred was healed. "Now," he turned to the rangers, and they got ready to fight. "As for you samurai rangers…where is the red ranger that deceived me all this time? I want him and the Chosen One! Red Ranger!"

"Careful, guys," Kevin warned. "Keep your distance." Nina spotted Lauren and ran over to her.

"Over here," Lauren called, and the two girls faced Xandred from the ledge they stood on. "I am the red ranger…"

"And I'm the Chosen One," Nina added, both girls glaring.

"And we're your downfall," they finished together. "Today, you will be sealed. Permanently."

"Ha!" Xandred scoffed. "What can two little girls like you do?" Though none of the others could see it, they knew that Lauren and Nina were now more pissed off than before. "Today is the end of the rangers."

Lauren glared. "The only thing ending is you!"

"You're a fool!" Xandred fired at them. Antonio shoved the girls out of the way before they could be hit, and the three landed on the ground nearby. The other rangers crowded around them.

"We're fine," Nina assured. "Now listen. We're going to use the sealing symbol against Master Xandred."

"But it takes time to write," Lauren continued. "So we need you to keep him busy. Got it?"

"Got it," Emily confirmed.

"Kevin, take the Black Box," Lauren handed the device to him. Lauren handed Mike the shark disc. The others stood around the girls as they made their exit.

Xandred stepped forward. "Well, well, well. He fired at them as Lauren and Nina got into position. Mike and Kevin both wore their power ups, and the fight was on.

Nina and Lauren stood on a different ledge, taking position. Xandred spotted them and started walking toward them, but Mike and Kevin held him back. The other rangers joined in. Lauren looked to her little sister. "Ready, Nina?"

"Ready," she nodded. Taking a deep breath and concentrating, the two girls began to draw the symbol. They paid no attention to the others distracting Xandred as the focused on creating the symbol. The girls tried not to let their friends' shouts distract them, and so far, it was working. The light zord flew in to help the rangers, and they continued fighting off Xandred. Jayden was helping them by taking down some moogers before going to help the other rangers.

The others were knocked down, and Xandred faced the girls. "Not today, not ever." The girls finished the symbol, and as Xandred fired at them, they fired the symbols at him. The symbols combined to form one and hit Xandred, sending him flying back into the cliff. Lauren and Nina took a few deep breaths as it appeared Xandred was no more. Lauren and Nina fell to their knees, not having the energy to stand.

"We really did it, father," Lauren muttered. "We finally sealed Master Xandred."

The moment was quickly ruined when Xandred stepped out of the fire from the symbol. A piece of him was torn off, and a white plate was left in its spot.

"Hey, what's that white patch on his chest?" Antonio asked. "I never saw that before!"

"This is far from over, rangers," Xandred cackled.

"I don't get it," Mike frowned. "How can it not work?"

"But no Nighlok can stop the sealing symbol," Nina agreed.

Xandred explained. "This white patch…Dayu's human side is what saved me."

"He must have absorbed Dayu's body," Mia realized. "He's not pure Nighlok anymore."

"And now, I don't need Sanzu water to keep me from drying out," he smirked.

"How can we stop him now?" Lauren wondered.

"You can't!" Xandred answered, firing at the two girls on the ledge and the rangers below. He let out a loud yell that had Lauren and Nina stumbling over the edge, falling to the ground. They hit the ground and demorphed. Jayden jumped down from the ledge he was on and ran to stand in front of the others.

He stood before them and took out his samurizer. "Symbol power, teleport!"

In a fog, they all vanished.

* * *

When they got back, Ji looked them all over. Surprisingly, Lauren was the only one seriously injured enough to keep her from the fight. Her arm was set in a sling, and night quickly fell. All of them were contemplating about what to do next. Night was upon them, and Lauren and Nina found themselves sitting outside in silence, looking up at the stars.

Jayden stepped outside and spotted them. He slowly walked over. "Lauren, Nina, are you two okay?" When he didn't get an answer, he moved and took the seat in between the two girls.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lauren asked, still not looking away from the stars.

"Yeah," Jayden agreed as he looked up.

"Kind of reminds you what we're all fighting for," Nina mused.

"You know what's coming next, don't you?" Lauren continued.

Nina went on. "That cloud of sorrow Dayu released probably has the Sanzu River ready to burst."

"Nothing will stop Master Xandred from sailing his evil ship right into our world," Lauren stated. "We let everybody down, Jayden."

"You," Nina sighed. "The rangers…and especially dad."

"I'm handing the leadership of the rangers back to you," Lauren looked at Jayden. "I came here to seal Master Xandred, but that didn't work. Now, the right thing is for you to lead the team again. You have a great team, Jayden. They need you now. The whole world needs you."

"I'll do my best," Jayden assured, taking hold of his sisters' hands. "It's time to finish what dad started."

Without speaking, all three had the same urge to do something they hadn't done since they were kids. They didn't have to say anything to know what they were all thinking. Without breaking their hands apart, they knelt down in front of the bench and looked up at the stars.

"Star light, star bright," they began, speaking as one. "First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."

* * *

Inside, the others had been thinking about what to do now and how they were going to go about taking down the Nighlok. When Nina, Jayden, and Lauren hadn't shown up to discuss this with them, they all looked around. They spotted the three through a window, seeing them kneeling on the ground and looking up at the stars, holding hands. Ji noticed this too, and he couldn't help but let a small smile come to his face.

"What are they doing?" Mike asked, wondering why the three were sitting how they were.

"They're making a wish," Ji answered, not moving his eyes from the three. "When your parents were rangers and before Lauren was sent into hiding, they used to do this all the time whenever things seemed really bad."

"Does it work?" Emily wondered.

"They like to think it does," Ji shrugged. "But they never told any of us what they wished for, so we never knew if it worked."

They watched as the three rangers outside stood up.

* * *

After wishing upon the stars, the siblings entered the Shiba house. The others acted as if they saw nothing, but they couldn't help but wonder what the three wished for and if it would really work. It was a bit later at night now, and Nina and Jayden stood behind Lauren as the older blonde explained things to the others. "Tomorrow," she began. "Master Xandred must be stopped. But before then, I have something to say. As you know, the sealing symbol failed to stop him. Nina and I weren't able to get the job done. I'm handing the leadership of the team back to Jayden."

"Really?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you might like the idea," Lauren smiled. "Jayden is the best chance that we have now."

"Thank you, Lauren," Jayden thanked. Lauren and Jayden switched spots, allowing the red ranger to speak. "All right, listen up. Master Xandred is more powerful than ever. It appears that he's unbeatable. But I have a plan. We're gonna take him out with brute force."

The others shared looks. "That's…that's your plan?" Mike questioned.

"Lauren and Nina's attempt to seal Master Xandred didn't work," Jayden nodded. "But it definitely weakened him. Dayu's human essence may have saved him, but it also created a weak spot that we can exploit. Forget sealing him. If we can hit that spot with a strong enough blow, we'd be able to destroy him."

"Yeah, but we'll need more power," Kevin pointed out.

"And you'll have it," Lauren assured. "Thanks to this," she handed Jayden a red disc.

"The Shiba Fire disc," he stated.

Lauren continued. "I'm too hurt to join you in battle, but I've used every last ounce of my strength to pack that disc with as much symbol power as I could. Hopefully, it'll be enough to help you defeat Master Xandred once and for all."

"Nice," Mike grinned. "Thanks Lauren. For everything you've done to help us."

"No doubt it'll be a tough battle," Jayden finished up. "But we're a strong team. That when together, can accomplish anything."

* * *

Morning came quicker than the rangers expected, and it wasn't long before the gap sensor went off. The rangers knew it was time for the final battle, no matter how it would go. From what they observed on the maps, it didn't look good. Almost every gap sensor set around the city had gone off, and they knew that the river must've been flooding into the world. With that in mind, the rangers headed into battle.

They stood on the high ledge in the quarry, all in their training uniforms and ready to fight. When they looked down, they saw hundreds of moogers littering the ground and the Sanzu water seeping into the city. They could also see Master Xandred's ship. "Look at them all," Antonio breathed.

"This is really it," Mia nodded.

"Are you still happy you decided to become a samurai?" Mike questioned.

"Are you serious?" Antonio scoffed. "Being a ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"No place I'd rather be," Emily agreed.

Jayden smiled. "I guess I don't have to ask you all if you're ready for this, then."

"Jayden, as long as you're with us, we're ready for anything," Kevin assured.

"Booyah," Mike muttered.

"No matter what we're up against," Nina added. "We're in this together, all the way."

"Looks like they spotted us," Mia pointed out.

"Let's do this," Jayden called.

Drawing their samurizers, they morphed. "Go go samurai! Samurai ranger, ready!"

Slowly, they walked toward the battle field, no longer on the ledge. They drew their swords and got ready for the fight. "Rangers together, samurai forever!" With a running start, they charged.

* * *

A/N: Ending this here. Up next is the final battle, and that might be a short chapter.


	39. Samurai Forever

**House of Rangers**

**Chapter 39: Samurai Forever**

_A/N: Last time, the beginning of the end happened. The sealing symbol failed, and the rangers now have to face Xandred. They came up with a plan to take him down, and with any luck, they will. Lauren, Jayden, and Nina all made a wish on the stars, and the others were curious about it. The red and orange rangers are hoping the wish comes true. The rangers headed into the final battle, so what'll happen? _

_This might be short. **There's still one more chapter after this! **_

_As of right now, Scott is ahead by one vote in the poll for this series, and I'm going to keep that poll open for a few more days. So if you haven't already, please vote in it!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I only own things not originally in the show._

* * *

Morning came quicker than the rangers expected, and it wasn't long before the gap sensor went off. The rangers knew it was time for the final battle, no matter how it would go. From what they observed on the maps, it didn't look good. Almost every gap sensor set around the city had gone off, and they knew that the river must've been flooding into the world. With that in mind, the rangers headed into battle.

They stood on the high ledge in the quarry, all in their training uniforms and ready to fight. When they looked down, they saw hundreds of moogers littering the ground and the Sanzu water seeping into the city. They could also see Master Xandred's ship. "Look at them all," Antonio breathed.

"This is really it," Mia nodded.

"Are you still happy you decided to become a samurai?" Mike questioned.

"Are you serious?" Antonio scoffed. "Being a ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"No place I'd rather be," Emily agreed.

Jayden smiled. "I guess I don't have to ask you all if you're ready for this, then."

"Jayden, as long as you're with us, we're ready for anything," Kevin assured.

"Booyah," Mike muttered.

"No matter what we're up against," Nina added. "We're in this together, all the way."

"Looks like they spotted us," Mia pointed out.

"Let's do this," Jayden called.

Drawing their samurizers, they morphed. "Go go samurai! Samurai ranger, ready!"

Slowly, they walked toward the battle field, no longer on the ledge. They drew their swords and got ready for the fight. "Rangers together, samurai forever!" With a running start, they charged.

Moogers swarmed around the rangers. They split them up, making sure to keep them far away, yet close enough to help each other. The rangers were taking on different sections of moogers, handling it with as much force as they could. It appeared as though every mooger left in the Netherworld had appeared, and it was time for them to be taken down. It wasn't long before Master Xandred made his appearance.

"Rangers!" he bellowed as he landed on the battlefield. "The hour of your destruction is at hand! Prepare to meet your doom!"

"Take your best shot, Master Xandred," Jayden challenged as the rangers grouped together.

"Oh, we will," he assured as more moogers appeared.

"There, on his chest," Jayden spotted the white patch. "That's where he absorbed Dayu's humanity. It could be his only weak spot. I may only get one shot to strike him there, so I've got to make it count." He set the fire disc into the Black Box. "Super Samurai mode. Get me in close."

"Flanking positions," Nina ordered. "Us girls in front, Mike and Kevin in the rear. Antonio, watch our backs." They all got into position.

"Mike and I will shield you," Kevin stated.

"You just focus on hitting that spot," Mike agreed.

Jayden sighed. "It's time. Get me to Master Xandred, no matter what the cost."

Without a word, they began the assault. Moogers began to converge on them, attacking them. The girls took down as many moogers as they good while they headed for Xandred, the ones they missed going for the boys. None of the moogers got too close to Jayden, and a few spitfangs appeared as well. The group made it through many moogers and continued to do so until Jayden had a clear shot. Mike and Kevin took a hit for Jayden to make sure he could reach the Nighlok.

"My sisters couldn't seal you," he huffed, his sword on fire and him running. "But I can still destroy you!" Xandred tried hitting him, but Jayden was quick enough to dodge it. The red ranger managed to strike the patch.

"Not a bad strategy, red ranger," Xandred coughed. "But you won't defeat me that easily." He grabbed the sword and shoved Jayden away. He landed near the others. "You really thought you could destroy me?"

"This isn't over, Xandred," Jayden growled. The fire disc buzzed and fell apart, landing on the ground.

"Ha," Xandred smirked. "Your one chance at victory now lies shattered on the ground. Nether wind!" He blasted the rangers with a powerful wind, following it with fire blasts. It left the rangers unmorphed and on the ground.

Jayden looked mad. "No matter what you do to us, we'll never bow to you."

"Even now," Xandred grumbled. "Your spirit can't be broken. Perhaps you just lack the proper incentive. If you won't beg for yourselves, then I'll capture the other red ranger and see if you'll beg to spare her."

He left the battlefield, leaving the rangers on the ground.

* * *

The rangers were still on the ground minutes later, and moogers still littered the field. Xandred was nowhere near them. Nina and Jayden found the strength to start getting up. "You guys can stand, right?" Nina asked, seeing the others trying to get up as well. "'Cause we have to find a way to stop Master Xandred."

"I was just taking a little siesta," Antonio coughed as they all slowly stood.

"Samurai rangers never give up," Mia stated as she and Kevin helped each other.

"For generations," Kevin added. "Our families have waited for this moment."

"What we do today will be remembered forever," Jayden said.

As one, they all drew their spin swords. Following that, they attacked the remaining moogers. They seemed to be using all their anger and energy for it, and it appeared to be working for them. Nina and Jayden, as usual, were fighting side by side, helping each other out. Not many moogers were left, but there were still enough for the rangers to each take on a few.

While they were fighting, they could see a motorcycle heading toward them from the distance. Ji appeared on the battlefield on his motorcycle. The rangers noticed this as they fought. Ji, who had worn his own armor to the fight, began fighting off moogers that had swarmed around him. When the moogers were gone, the rangers grouped together and met Ji in the middle.

"We kicked those moogers' butts," Mike grinned.

"Is everyone all right?" Ji asked.

"We're fine," Kevin assured.

"Don't worry, Mentor," Emily added. "You taught us to never give up."

"We'll beat Master Xandred if it's the last thing we do," Nina assured.

Mike agreed. "And after that, you're gonna teach me something new."

"What's that?" Ji wondered.

"To ride your motorcycle," Mike shrugged.

"Now that scares me more than any Nighlok," the older man joked. He walked over to Jayden and handed him a disc. "This is for you."

"Another Shiba Fire disc?" Jayden frowned. "But how could she?"

Ji explained. "She gave it everything she had. But I'm afraid it can only be used one time."

"I'll be sure not to waste it," Jayden took the disc. Ji dug out another disc and turned to Nina.

"This disc belonged to your father," he explained. "Before his last battle, he asked me to save it for a moment like this. Use it to double your power."

Nina nodded as she took it, and Jayden spoke. "Everything rides on this last battle."

"I have faith in you," Ji stated.

* * *

With the two new discs at hand, the rangers made their way into the city to finish the fight. Xandred was walking around with moogers, terrorizing people. Most of the areas the rangers had seen looked destroyed and were filled with rubble. "Master Xandred!" Jayden called as they appeared behind him. "It's time to finish this!" Xandred and the moogers turned, seeing the rangers.

"I thought I told you pathetic pests to wait," Xandred growled.

"Sorry," Nina rolled her eyes. "We became impatient."

"You will fall," Jayden went on. "And this world will be protected."

"Rangers together, samurai forever!"

Xandred scoffed. "Fools. Forever is shorter than you think. Attack!"

Once more, moogers converged on the rangers. The seven rangers wasted no time in charging the oncoming moogers, feeling ready for anything. There weren't as many moogers now as there were in the quarry, but there was still a decent amount. All of them were taking on a few moogers each, helping each other out when needed.

When the moogers were destroyed, they gathered together and pulled out their samurizers. "Go go samurai!"

"Rangers, you will fall!" Xandred fired at them just as they morphed.

However, the rangers, morphed, came running out of the fog from the explosion and toward him. Jayden and Nina attacked him together, being the first to reach him. Mia and Antonio tried next, only to be tossed down. Mike, Kevin, and Emily were thrown back as well, and the rangers regrouped.

"I've had enough of these games," Xandred grumbled. He fired at them again, and they split up as they rolled out of the way.

"Symbol power, capture!" They all sent the symbol to him, hitting him.

"You think your power symbols can hold me for long?" he growled.

Jayden called on his fire smasher, and Nina tossed him the white disc. Jayden created another fire smasher and handed it to his sister. "Fire Smasher, double mode!" Together, the two charged Xandred with the giant weapon in hand. Nina struck him first, Jayden quickly following. They struck again at the same time, and then once more. Master Xandred blew them back.

"Now!" the two called.

"Now what?" Xandred demanded. The other five rangers hit Master Xandred in a pattern so that he was trapped between all of their swords.

"Spin sword," Kevin called. "Shiba fire!" Using the disc that Nina and Jayden had lent him, his sword set on fire and he struck Xandred just as the others were thrown off. "Finish him, Jayden."

Jayden stood. "I'm hoping to do just that." He set the disc on his sword. "Shogun mode. Power of the ancestors!" His suit transformed into the shogun mode.

"What's this?" Xandred demanded.

"It's the end of the line for you," Jayden huffed. He charged Xandred and hit him multiple times on the white patch.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" Xandred vowed as he exploded, destroyed.

However, just like all the other Nighlok they've faced, Xandred grew back bigger.

* * *

The megazord fight was a long one, and very tiring for the rangers. With Jayden still in shogun mode, they had created the ultimate samurai combination for the final fight. Xandred kept attacking them, but they had fired right back with everything they had. It was rough, and the rangers had tired themselves out a lot. They demorphed inside the megazord, deciding that was best so they could use every ounce of symbol power they had left. With one major strike, they had taken down Xandred for good.

The Sanzu River water had flooded out of the city and back to the Netherworld. The zords had taken quite a beating, but they were still operational, or at least the folding zords were. They appeared on the ground, still alive and well. Ji ran to where the fight had ended and looked for them. Sluggishly, they made their way over to Ji.

"Rangers, you did it!" Ji shouted. "You saved the world! The Nighlok are defeated!"

They all met in the center of the area for a group hug. They split up and hugged each other. As one, they stood in a circle and all put a hand in the center, smiling. "Samurai rangers, victory is ours!"

To their surprise, they then heard applause. This caused them to turn toward the sound, and they noticed that almost everyone in the town had appeared to applaud them for their efforts. They could see the citizens with smiles on their faces and cheering the rangers on.

"What's going on?" Kevin asked in a quiet voice, confused. They became even more confused when they saw people snapping pictures.

"I think we just exposed our identities," Nina winced. "They must've been watching us fight and saw us fall from the zords."

"Well, we'll definitely be on the five o'clock news," Mike muttered.

"There's no escaping it now," Ji sighed. "So you might as well get used to the fame. Your identities may have been exposed by accident, but they were still exposed."

The rangers all shared amused looks.

* * *

A/N: Ending it there. Yes, I did have their identities exposed. It was only because I wanted the other Anubis people to find out about why Nina really left, and that was the easiest way to make it happen. So up next is the rangers leaving, and Nina's return to Anubis House.


End file.
